work clothes
11
1.6
- noun
- /wɜrk kloʊðz/
:
ropa de trabajo
- On the hillside, Juan Rostagno, thirty-ish, Costa Rican, a smart-looking guy in work clothes, is waiting for him.
- wearing work clothes
- dressed in work clothes
- put on work clothes
So even if your focus and your love is colors and prints, you're showing that you can do work clothes, you can do play clothes, you can do knits, you can do wovens.
- So even if your focus and your love is colors and prints, you're showing that you can do work clothes, you can do play clothes, you can do knits, you can do wovens.
Examples
-
Leah's father was dressed in his work clothes and boots, talking to some of the youngsters about picking avocados.
Fiction book (1993) -
He's dressed in his work clothes, finishing a tile project in the kitchen.
Fiction book (1994) -
All I have are work clothes.
-
I need my work clothes first thing on Monday morning
-
These are just my work clothes.
-
I'm already in my work clothes.
-
Albert suggested, "Why don't we change into our work clothes and load my equipment first?"
Fiction book (1991) -
Dressed in navy blue work clothes, Mike was covered with grease from head to toe.
Fiction book (1999) -
One lens had shattered and his khaki work clothes were bloodied and torn.
Fiction book (1999) -
Wearing sturdy work clothes, Maria was ready to tackle the outdoor project all weekend.
Synonyms
1
3.7
Clothes that are strong and useful for physical jobs like construction
Clothes you wear to do physical work that are strong and protect you
Clothes you wear for hard jobs that protect you and are strong
Clothes people wear to protect them during physical work
How Practical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'work clothes' is directly and predictably built from 'work' (job, tasks) + 'clothes' (garments), so its core meaning — garments worn for work or manual tasks — is immediately inferable. This noun+noun compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and requires no idiomatic knowledge, making it accessible to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Work clothes began simply: people kept a separate set of clothes for doing hard or dirty jobs. They would change into old, strong garments like overalls or aprons to 'protect' their good clothes, so work and clothes together literally mean clothes you wear for a job today.