adj · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P L EY1 N K L OW1 Z
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of a police officer, wearing ordinary civilian clothes instead of a uniform, in order to avoid detection.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: government, law-enforcement
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Ordinary civilian clothes, rather than uniform.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural, plural-only
Topics: government, law-enforcement
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mufti
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
No etymology was provided for this word.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
便服
(biànfú)
— wearing civilian clothes
