clothe
/ˈkloʊð/verb
clothe is spelled C-L-O-T-H-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, clothe means “To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in clothe?
| Letters | 6: C-L-O-T-H-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is clothe?
Clothe appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th 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 clothe?
- UK /ˈkləʊð/
- US /ˈkloʊð/
- /ˈkloð/
Clothe has one syllable (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-clothe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with clothe?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as clothe from its last stressed vowel (/oʊð/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of clothe
- clothes present, singular, he/she/it
- clothing participle, present
- clothed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clothe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.
to feed and clothe a family; to clothe oneself extravagantly
- 2
To cover or invest, as if with a garment.
to clothe somebody with authority or power
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Clothe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to adorn with clothing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vêtir, habiller |
| German | bekleiden, anziehen |
| Portuguese | carregar, trazer, vestir |
| Spanish | vestir, arropar |
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 clothe come from?
From Middle English clothen, from Old English *clāþian (“to clothe”), from Proto-Germanic *klaiþōną (“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to adhere to, stick”). Cognate with Dutch kleden, German kleiden, Swedish kläda, after apocope klä. See also cloth, clad.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).