Meanings
- Scotlandpluralplural onlyPants, breeches.
— Ah, poor dogsbody, he said in a kind voice. I must give you a shirt and a few noserags. How are the secondhand breeks?
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 62 more examples
He was a loutish fellow, much bent in the shoulders, with leggings, which lacked most of the buttons, over his disreputable breeks.
1930 July, John Buchan, “The First Day of the Hegira—The Inn at Watermeeting”, in Castle Gay, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, →OCLC, page 140Tane unfolded and rose to his full height. Naked, his tanned flesh glistening with sweat, he held out his arms and stretched out the kinks in his body. […] "Loan me some breeks."
2002, Mickee Madden, Midnight Sun, page 144
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old Englishbrēċ“breeches”
- Middle Englishbreke
- Englishbreeks
From Middle English breke, Northern variant of brechis (“trousers”), from Old English brēċ (“breeches”), plural of brōc (“covering for the leg; trouser”). More at breeches.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with breeks
All rhymes →Cite this entry
breeks. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breeks
“breeks.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breeks. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “breeks,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breeks.
Source: breeks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.