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whites

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whites¹

  • /(h)waɪts/

Rhymes with -aɪts

noun

  1. plural plural of white

noun

  1. plural, plural only A set of white clothes, especially as a uniform. He walked somewhat mincingly, thin, in soiled whites, his brief-case under his arm.
  2. plural, plural only The white uniform of a chef.
  3. plural, plural only Cricket whites.
  4. US, plural, plural only A white uniform formerly worn by officers of United States Marine Corps.
  5. plural, plural only Linen, especially laundry, that is white.
  6. informal, plural, plural only leukorrhea.

verb

  1. indicative, present, singular, third person third-person singular simple present indicative of white

Whites²

Where it comes from

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of albī (“Whites”), albātī (“White-Clads”), factio alba (“the white faction”), or factio albata (“the white-clad faction”) and Λευκοὶ (Leukoì, “Whites”).

noun

  1. plural plural of White

Whites³

proper noun

  1. plural plural of White
  2. historical The chariot-racing faction of the Roman circus and Constantinopolitan hippodrome that wore white. Directly opposite the imperial box in the Hippodrome were the seats assigned to the Blues, the Reds, the Whites, and the Greens. These were the colours of the chariot-racing factions, the professional organizations initially responsible for fielding the teams, though at some point in the fifth centu
  3. UK, historical The away team during international matches. 1996, S. Greenfield, "When the Whites Go Marching In? Racism and Resistances in English Football", Marquette Sports Law Review, Vol. 6, No. 2, Art. 7, p. 315: #*: "When the Whites go Marching In" is a version of the hymn "When the Saints Go Marching In" and has been sung by football fans whilst atte
  4. historical Juventus.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: lily-white, whiteness, whiten, snowy, white-hot, hot, colorless, achromatic, light, covered, tweed, flannel, gabardine, clad, clothed, diluted

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Cite this
MLA

"whites." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/whites. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

whites. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/whites

Chicago

"whites." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/whites.

BibTeX
@misc{whites_2026,
  title = {whites},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/whites},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}