hip-huggers

IPA/ˈhɪp hʌɡəz/
IPA/ˈhɪp hʌɡərz/

hip-huggers — noun

1. a style of trousers cut to sit on the hips instead of at the natural waist, usua

1.nounB1
Definition

a style of trousers cut to sit on the hips instead of at the natural waist, usually fitting snugly around the seat and thighs

Example

Bao wore a pair of black hip-huggers to the concert last Friday.

always plural: 'a pair of hip-huggers'

The store had a sale on vintage hip-huggers with wide bell-bottoms.

collocation: vintage hip-huggers

Common collocations
  • black hip-huggers
  • tight hip-huggers
  • vintage hip-huggers
  • a pair of hip-huggers
Synonyms
  • low-rise trousers

    more general term for trousers below the waist; hip-huggers are a specific subtype

  • hipsters

    British English term for the same low-rise style

  • low-slung trousers

    describes the fit rather than a specific garment style

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

always used with plural verbs and determiners

Usage Note

Always used in plural form, like 'jeans' or 'trousers'. Requires plural verbs and plural determiners (these, those, my).

Common Mistakes

I bought a hip-hugger yesterday.
I bought some hip-huggers yesterday.
hip-huggers is always plural, like jeans or trousers.
This hip-huggers is too tight.
These hip-huggers are too tight.
plural noun requires a plural determiner and verb.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Hip-huggers, low-rise trousers, and hipsters all refer to trousers that sit below the waist, but each term has a different connotation. Hip-huggers specifically describes a style that hugs the hips and was especially fashionable in the 1970s and early 2000s. Low-rise trousers is a broader term for any trousers with a waistband that sits low on the hips, without implying a tight fit. Hipsters is the common British English term for this same low-rise style. Low-slung trousers is more descriptive and can refer to any trousers that hang loosely from the hips, not necessarily tight-fitting. For example: 'She wore black hip-huggers with a cropped top,' but 'The designer's low-slung trousers had a relaxed, baggy fit.'

low-rise trousershipsters ↗low-slung trousers

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a pair of hip-huggers
  • tight hip-huggers
  • vintage hip-huggers

Etymology

English

The term 'hip-huggers' emerged in the 1960s, combining 'hip' (the area of the body below the waist) with 'huggers' (something that fits closely or 'hugs' the body). The name directly describes how these trousers sit low on the hips and fit snugly. The style first became popular during the 1960s and 1970s counterculture fashion, then saw a major revival in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

First known use

1959

1959, in the meaning defined above