Meanings
- not comparableMade by a tailor, especially if made to order; bespoke.
- not comparablePerfectly appropriate to some specific occasion or purpose; made to one's specific requirements.
Any local businesses looking to use rail freight now have a tailor-made facility ready and waiting.
2023 December 27, Richard Foster, “New rail freight terminal leads the way”, in RAIL, number 999, page 41
- participlepastsimple past and past participle of tailor-make
plural tailor-mades
- A piece of clothing made by a tailor; (specifically), a dress made by a tailor rather than by a dressmaker, and hence plainer in style.
Leonora always appeared to me at her best in a blue tailor-made.
1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter I, in The Good Soldier […], London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC3 more examples
A breitschwantz stole edged with ermine is knotted over this black woollen tailor-made.
1952, Art et la Mode, volume 74She was in a black tailor-made. A wide-mesh veil came down from the rim of a small black straw hat.
1954, Ian Fleming, “The Silver Phantom”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 96‘But you must remember, Bili, that now in Paris you can practically go to a ball in a tailormade.’
1973, Christina Stead, The Little Hotel, Text Classics, published 2016, page 119
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of civvy (“manufactured cigarette”).
More synonyms by meaning
adjective(of clothing) custom-made
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan fet a mida
- fet a midamade to specific requirements
Danish skræddersyet
- skræddersyetmade to specific requirements
Dutch op maat (gemaakt), maat-
- op maat (gemaakt)made to specific requirements
- maat-made to specific requirements
Finnish räätälin tekemä, räätälöity
- räätälin tekemämade by a tailor
- räätälöitymade to specific requirements
German maßgeschneidert, maßgeschneidert
- maßgeschneidertmade by a tailor
- maßgeschneidertmade to specific requirements
Greek κατά παραγγελία, επί παραγγελία
- κατά παραγγελία (katá parangelía)made to specific requirements
- επί παραγγελία (epí parangelía)made to specific requirements
- εξατομικευμένος (exatomikevménos)made to specific requirements
Polish szyty na miarę, szyty na miarę
- szyty na miaręmade by a tailor
- szyty na miaręmade to specific requirements
Spanish hecho / confeccionado por sastre, hecho / confeccionado a medida
- hecho / confeccionado por sastremade by a tailor
- hecho / confeccionado a medidamade to specific requirements
- hecho / confeccionado a la medidamade to specific requirements
Swedish skräddarsydd, måttbeställd
- skräddarsyddmade by a tailor
- måttbeställdmade by a tailor
- skräddarsyddmade to specific requirements
- specialanpassadmade to specific requirements
Cite this entry
tailor-made. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tailor-made
“tailor-made.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tailor-made. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tailor-made,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tailor-made.
Source: tailor-made on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.