What is the term for work clothes?

Author：HAIYUAN TIME：2025-09-29Read：

The term for "work clothes" isn't just one word—it depends heavily on the industry, formality, and specific purpose of the clothing. Here’s a breakdown of the most common terms, from general to specific:

1. The Most Common General Terms

Work Clothes: The simple, universal term for clothing worn for manual labor. It's understood by everyone.
Workwear: This is a very common and slightly more professional or commercial term. It's used to describe the category of clothing designed for work. You'll see this term in stores and catalogs.

2. Terms for Specific Contexts

For Safety-Sensitive Jobs (like the drilling workers):

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): This is the most accurate term for specialized gear worn to minimize exposure to hazards. It includes hard hats, gloves, safety glasses, and FR Clothing.
FR Clothing (Flame-Resistant Clothing): The specific term for the coveralls and shirts worn by workers in oil & gas, utilities, and other industries with fire risks.
Hi-Vis / High-Visibility Clothing: Gear with fluorescent and reflective materials for workers who need to be seen (road crews, warehouse workers).

For Trades and General Manual Labor:

Dungarees / Overalls / Coveralls: These are specific garment types that are iconic in many trades. "Coveralls" is often used interchangeably with a full protective suit.
Utilities: A common term, especially in the UK and Australia, for work pants with multiple tool pockets (e.g., "cargo pants" or "utility pants").

For Company-Provided Clothing:

Uniform: Used when the work clothes are standardized and provided by the employer to create a consistent look (e.g., for mechanics, security guards, some delivery drivers).
Corporate Wear / Work Uniform: A more formal term for a company's standardized apparel.

For Specific Professions:

Scrubs: The specific term for work clothes in healthcare.
Chef's Whites / Kitchen Uniform: The specific term for work clothes in a culinary setting.

3. Regional and Informal Terms

Work Gear: A casual, all-encompassing term.
Duds / Threads: Very informal slang for clothing, sometimes specified as "work duds."
Rig: Used in some regions (like Australia) to refer to a set of work clothes. ("I'll put on my work rig.")

Summary Table

Term	Best For / Context	Example
Work Clothes	General, everyday use for any manual job.	"I need to buy some new work clothes for my construction job."
Workwear	General use, retail, and industry term.	"This store specializes in durable workwear."
PPE	Safety-critical environments.	"All employees must don the appropriate PPE before entering the plant."
FR Clothing	Oil & gas, electrical, firefighting.	"The FR clothing saved him from severe burns during the flash fire."
Uniform	Company-issued, standardized clothing.	"The mechanic's uniform has the company's logo on it."
Coveralls / Overalls	Trades, mechanics, farming.	"He zipped up his coveralls before starting on the car engine."

In short:
For general use, "work clothes" or "workwear" is perfect.
For the drilling workers you asked about earlier, the most precise term is "PPE" or "FR Clothing," which are specific types of workwear.

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