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# breeches

«breeches» in Mova's school dictionary: **Short trousers fastened just below the knee, worn by men…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (breeches, plural)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Short trousers fastened just below the knee, worn by men in the past and today for horse riding (riding breeches). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#m1)

2) (informal, old) Trousers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In history lessons, Tudor, Stuart and Georgian men wore breeches with long stockings; boys were «breeched» (put into breeches) when they were about 5–7. Riders wear tight riding breeches. In The Wind in the Willows, Toad dresses up in fine clothes; in pictures of old times, gentlemen and servants wear breeches. Phrase: «too big for your breeches» (or britches) means too proud of yourself.

### examples

- The king wore velvet breeches and white stockings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x1)
- She pulled on her riding breeches before her lesson. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x2)
- Pirates wore loose breeches. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x3)
- He's getting too big for his breeches since he won. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x4)
- The footman wore breeches and buckled shoes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x5)
- Breeches stop just below the knee. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x6)
- Breeches of crimson velvet, silk stockings, and low, silver-buckled slippers completed his costume. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/#x7)

### note

Always plural: «a pair of breeches». Sounds like «BRITCH-iz», not «BREE-chiz». US informal spelling britches.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «breeches» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breeches/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.