Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

reach-me-down

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.88 in modern English

Syllables: reach-me--down
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

noun

Ready-made clothing.

Example Sentences

"A reach-me-down dress, a penny sparkler, a fancy cake, a sixpenny entertainment . . . how can such things use up so much money?"
"He shrank from the prospect of being confronted next day, at the height of his misery, with these appalling reach-me-downs."

Etymology

An allusion to clothes being simply taken down from a rack, rather than tailored. See reach down.

Inflected Forms

reach-me-downs (plural)

Questions

What does reach-me-down mean?: Ready-made.
Where does reach-me-down come from?: An allusion to clothes being simply taken down from a rack, rather than tailored. See reach down.

How to pronounce reach-me-down

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