trousers

/ˈtɹaʊzəz/

//ˈtɹaʊzəz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"trousers" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“trousers” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,313. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,313
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg.

Corpus desk

Index EN-trousers · trousers · English

trousers · rank #11,313 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #11,313
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trench

Nearest frequency peer: trench (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “trousers”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “trousers” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

trousers vs trouser
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for trousers
PropertyValue
Headwordtrousers
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹaʊzəz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#11,313
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “trousers”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).trouserslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “trench” (#11,312), “unwilling” (#11,314), “treasures” (#11,311). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “trousers” is #11,313. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around trousers (IPA /ˈtɹaʊzəz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,313 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for trousers, with forms such as "rtousers", "torusers", and "trosuers". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "trouser", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 1610s, from the earlier form trouzes (attested since the 1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Middle Irish triubus (“close-fitting shorts”), from Old Irish tribus, of uncertain origin. … The correct English form is trousers, spelled T-R-O-U-S-E-R-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how trousers appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The trousers need to be shortened.
  2. It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

Etymology

Attested since the 1610s, from the earlier form trouzes (attested since the 1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Middle Irish triubus (“close-fitting shorts”), from Old Irish tribus, of uncertain origin. The unexplained intrusive second -r- is perhaps due to the influence of drawers. Doublet of trews (“trousers”). Old Irish tribus is probably a borrowing of Anglo-Norman tribuz, trebuz, from Old French trebus, from Old Occitan trebucs, trabucs, from Late Latin trabrugi, tribuces, tubruci (“leg-coverings”), from an early Germanic language, likely Gothic *𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌺𐍃 (*þiuhbrōks), from Proto-Germanic *þeuhabrōks (“loincloth, trousers”), from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą (“thigh”) + *brōks (“leggings, trousers”), thus making it by surface analysis, thigh + breeches. Cognate with Old High German diohbruoh (“loincloth, trousers”), whence obsolete German Diechbruch (“short legwear, knee breeches, loincloth”).

Synonyms

breechesbreeksbritchescacksgaskinshosehoseninexpressibleskeckslally-dragspair of trouserspantpantsstridestrewstrouserstrucks

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtousers
  • torusers
  • trosuers
  • trouesrs
  • trouserrs
  • trouserss
  • trousesr
  • trousres
  • troussers
  • trrousers
  • truosers
  • ttrousers

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of trousers - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

rtousers2torusers2trosuers2trouesrs2trouserrs1trouserss1trousesr2trousres2
Edit distance from "trousers"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "trousers"?
"trousers" is spelled T-R-O-U-S-E-R-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹaʊzəz/.
What does "trousers" mean?
As a noun, "trousers" means: An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg.
What words are commonly confused with "trousers"?
"trousers" is commonly confused with "trouser". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "trousers"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "trousers" is /ˈtɹaʊzəz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "trousers"?
Attested since the 1610s, from the earlier form trouzes (attested since the 1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Middle Irish triubus (“close-fitting shorts”), from Old Irish tribus, of uncertai... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "trousers", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

validity#11,317variants#11,318stranded#11,301battling#11,343

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

unwilling12 variantsstylish12 variantspentagon12 variantsdeprived12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list