What does clothe mean?
Word: Clothe
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Clothe means to provide somebody with clothes, or to put a particular kind of clothing on somebody.
How do you spell clothe?
Syllables: clothe
Tricky part: Clothe and cloth look almost the same and differ only by the final e, so the two are easily mixed up. Read the whole sentence before you choose.
Watch out for: cloathe, clowthe
Memory tip: The e at the end of clothe is silent, but it stretches the o into a long 'oh', just as the e does in rope.
Clothe in a sentence
Example 1: In autumn the maple trees along the river are clothed in red and gold.
Example 2: It costs a lot to feed and clothe a growing family every year.
Example 3: Ms Okafor's costume team has to clothe forty actors for the school play.
Fun Fact
Clad, as in ivy-clad walls, began life as an old past tense of clothe; today the usual past form is clothed.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Read the two sentences and choose the correct option:
1. The school fund helps clothe new pupils in smart blazers. 2. Leo polished his bicycle with a soft clothe.
a) neither
b) only 1
c) only 2
d) both
Show answer
b) only 1. Sentence 1 is about giving pupils something to wear; the polishing material in sentence 2 should be cloth, with no e.
Sound Check
In which word is 'th' pronounced differently?
a) soothe
b) breathe
c) clothe
d) growth
Show answer
d) growth. Growth ends in the soft, breathy th of thin, while the other three use the buzzing th of this.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) knit : knitting
b) clothe : clothing
c) embroider : embroiderring
d) weave : weaving
Show answer
c) embroider : embroiderring. Embroider is not stressed on its last part, so its r stays single when -ing is added: embroidering.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. clothe 2. mend 3. soak a. repair b. drench c. dress
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
Show answer
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. To clothe someone is to dress them, to mend a thing is to repair it, and to soak something is to drench it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A charity that helps to clothe families in winter is most likely to collect ___.
a) tins of paint
b) coats and jumpers
c) garden tools
d) old newspapers
Show answer
b) coats and jumpers
2. Which of these could clothe the hills in white overnight?
a) a light shower
b) a strong wind
c) bright moonlight
d) heavy snow
Show answer
d) heavy snow
