breeches
/ˈbɹiː.t͡ʃɪz/noun
breeches is spelled B-R-E-E-C-H-E-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, breeches means “A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in breeches?
| Letters | 8: B-R-E-E-C-H-E-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,187th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is breeches?
Breeches appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce breeches?
- /ˈbɹiː.t͡ʃɪz/
- /ˈbɹɪ.t͡ʃɪz/
Breeches has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-breeches.ogg, En-us-britches.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of breeches
- breech
- breeks
- britches
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does breeches mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs; smallclothes.
- 2
informalTrousers; pantaloons.
- 3
plural of breech
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Breeches in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a garment worn by men, covering the hips and thighs:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | culotte, haut-de-chausses |
| German | Breeches, Kniehose |
| Portuguese | calções |
| Spanish | calzones |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does breeches come from?
From Middle English breches, brechen pl, a variant of Middle English breche, brech, brek (“breeches”), from Old English brēċ (“underpants”), the plural of brōc (“legging, buttocks”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōk, from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“crotch, legging, trousers”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).