trouser cuff

1 3.5

A turned-up edge at the bottom of a pant leg

noun
/ˈtraʊzər kʌf/

: dobladillo

After stepping in a puddle, she had to dry her trouser cuffs before continuing her day.

Examples

Nothing fit, but I rolled up the trouser cuffs, the sleeves of the white shirt, and pulled the belt in as tight as I could.

Fiction book (1993)
It bites him, clamping its jaws onto his trouser cuff.

Fiction book (1991)
As he walked, the elegant stitch of his trouser cuff caught everyone's attention.
The tailor adjusted the trouser cuffs to ensure they fell just above his shoes.

Synonyms

cuff

vstrouser cuff

73 2.4

The finished end of a sleeve or trouser leg

is the specific decorative or functional turned edge at pant bottom

hem

vstrouser cuff

32 1.5

The edge of a piece of cloth folded and sewn to stop it coming apart

is a turned or finished lower edge often sewn and sometimes decorative

turnup

vstrouser cuff

7.0

A folded edge at the end of a sleeve or trouser leg that makes a visible cuff

is a finished lower edge often sewn for decoration or function

How Visible

turnup

7.0

trouser cuff

1 3.5

hem

32 1.5

Surface Forms

trouser cuff singular

trouser cuffs plural

Morphology

trouser + cuff

The noun–noun combination is directly compositional: 'trouser' identifies the garment and 'cuff' denotes a finished edge band, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the turned-up or finished hem at the bottom of a trouser leg. Using 'cuff' for hems beyond sleeves is a regular and cross-linguistically common extension, making the meaning immediately predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Trouser cuff comes from the simple practice of folding or sewing the bottom of a pant leg to make a neat band. The word cuff names that turned-up band and trouser shows where it is, so today trouser cuff means the 'finished hem' at the bottom of the leg.