clad

/klæd/

/klæd/

Clad means "dressed or covered." Most kids go to school clad in jeans and t-shirts, but students in the Shakespeare club might show up clad in velvet gowns or leather breeches.

As a verb, clad is the past tense and past particle of “clothe,” as in “the leprechaun clad himself in green.” It’s also an adjective that describes being covered or clothed, so a building can be clad in brick, while a person can be clad in head-to-toe sequins. It’s an old-fashioned word, kind of like “shod,” which means “wearing footwear.”

Definitions of clad

1. adjective

   having an outer covering especially of thin metal
   “steel-clad”

   “armor-clad”

   synonyms:

   sheathed

   enclosed in a protective covering; sometimes used in combination
2. adjective

   wearing or provided with clothing; sometimes used in combination
   “nurses clad in white”

   “white-clad nurses”

   synonyms: clothed

   adorned, decorated

   provided with something intended to increase its beauty or distinction

   appareled, attired, dressed, garbed, garmented, habilimented, robed

   dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination

   arrayed, panoplied

   in ceremonial attire and paraphernalia

   breeched, pantalooned, trousered

   dressed in trousers

   bundled-up

   dressed warmly

   caparisoned

   clothed in finery (especially a horse in ornamental trappings)

   cassocked

   dressed in a cassock

   coated

   having or dressed in a coat

   costumed

   dressed in clothing characteristic of a period, country, or class

   cowled

   having the head enclosed in a cowl or hood

   dighted

   dressed or adorned (as for battle)

   dolled up, dressed, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines, dressed-up, spiffed up, spruced up, togged up

   dressed in fancy or formal clothing

   gowned

   wearing a gown

   habited

   dressed in a habit

   heavy-coated

   wearing a heavy coat

   overdressed

   dressed too elaborately

   petticoated

   wearing or furnished with a petticoat

   lobster-backed, red-coated

   used of British soldiers during the American Revolutionary War because of their red coats

   suited

   outfitted or supplied with clothing

   surpliced

   wearing a surplice

   togged

   dressed especially in smart clothes

   turned out

   dressed well or smartly

   tuxedoed

   dressed in a tuxedo

   underdressed

   inadequately or too informally clothed

   uniformed

   dressed in a uniform

   vestmented

   dressed in ceremonial garments especially clerical vestment