pair of underwear
- noun
- /pɛr ʌnˈdɜrˌwɛr/
- How many pairs of underwear did the child already own?
- extra pair of underwear
- two pairs of underwear
- clean pair of underwear
But there have been times where I'm like where I'll put on a pair of underwear that I've worn before, but it doesn't happen often.
- But there have been times where I'm like where I'll put on a pair of underwear that I've worn before, but it doesn't happen often.
- I got a lot of backlash for confessing that like I don't some you know, I wear the same pair of underwear.
Examples
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"Seven T-shirts, seven pairs of underwear and socks is all I need."
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She is filling an overnight bag with soap, toilet paper, a clean hand towel, and extra pairs of underwear.
Fiction book (1999) -
l have more than one pair of underwear.
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I got five pairs of underwear.
-
The daughter has 3 or 4 pairs of underwear and access to a washing machine.
Blog text (19) -
One pair of underwear, that's all they brought?
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We always put one T-shirt, one pair of underwear, and one pair of socks in a zip-lock bag.
Blog text (31) -
There are few life transitions that require one to live with one T-shirt, two pairs of underwear, and some jeans.
Blog text (25) -
Three pairs of underwear, one pair of long underwear, two pairs of pants, two sweaters, one furry robe, one nightgown.
Fiction book (1991) -
He bought a new pair of underwear for the trip to the beach.
Synonyms
A woman's underwear that covers the lower body and each leg
Clothes that you wear next to your skin under other clothes
A pair of short underwear worn by women or girls
A very small piece of underwear with a thin strip that goes between the buttocks
A close-fitting piece of underwear for women or girls
Warm underwear with long legs worn under clothes in cold weather
Loose underpants for men that look like shorts
Warm clothing that covers the arms and legs and is worn under other clothes
A piece of clothing worn under other clothes like socks or an undershirt
Underwear for men that covers the hips and bottom
A set of men's cotton underwear with an undershirt and underpants
Light women's underwear like panties or bras
Clothes people wear under other clothes that cover the area from the waist to the upper thighs
Clothes worn next to your body, like underwear
Underwear like briefs or underpants
A type of short, tight underwear that covers the hips and buttocks but not the thighs
Underwear women wear under their clothes
Short, tight underwear worn under clothes, usually by men
Loose underwear for men that reach the thighs with an elastic waist
A small, tight pair of women's underwear cut like a bikini bottom
Long underpants worn by men under their clothes for warmth
Underwear men wore under their clothes in the past
How Modest
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meaning 'an undergarment' is directly derivable from 'underwear' and the construction 'pair of' signals a unit of clothing, so learners who know the words will grasp it refers to underwear. However, the quantity nuance (that 'a pair of underwear' commonly refers to a single garment in English despite 'pair' implying two) is a language-specific usage that may confuse B1 learners. Because the basic referent is compositional but the count/usage is not fully predictable, it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pair of underwear comes from early clothing where each leg was a separate piece, so people called the two parts a pair and kept the name even after they became one item of underwear. That's why today we still say 'a pair of underwear' to mean 'one item' of underwear.