# clothe

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈkləʊð/ · frequency rank #39,249

## Definitions
1. To adorn or cover with clothing; to dress; to supply clothes or clothing.
2. To cover or invest, as if with a garment.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **cote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clothe-vs-cote)
- **clove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clothe-vs-clove)
- **cloths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clothe-vs-cloths)
- **clothes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clothe-vs-clothes)
- **clothed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clothe-vs-clothed)
- **clot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clot-vs-clothe)
- **close** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/close-vs-clothe)
- **cloth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cloth-vs-clothe)
- **clone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clone-vs-clothe)
- **cliché** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cliche-vs-clothe)

## Common misspellings (9)
`cclothe`, `cllothe`, `clohte`, `cloteh`, `clothhe`, `clotthe`, `cltohe`, `colthe`, `lcothe`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clothe