Confused with the word "bottom". Do we say "he is wearing a pair of pajama bottoms" or "he is wearing a pajama bottom"?

Question

In the dictionary

Bottom 5 [count] : a piece of clothing that is worn on the lower part of the body

a bikini bottom

— often plural

pajama bottoms

So, "a bikini bottom" should look like "a pair of panties" but they use it as a singular noun.

And pajama bottoms should look like "a pair of pants" and they use it as a plural noun.

Which of the followings are correct?

-She is wearing a bikini bottom

-She is wearing a pair of bikini bottoms

-She is wearing a pajama bottom

-She is wearing a pair of pajama bottoms

Note: Also, Do we say "put on your bottoms" or "put on your bottom" when we mean he can put any thing on to cover his lower body?

For example, I want my child to wear either a pair of pants or a pair of shorts or a pair of panties. As long as he wears one of the there, it is fine.

It is tired to think about whether I have to say "pants, shorts or panties". And they are very similar sometimes and confusing. In that case, is it correct to say "put on your bottoms" or "put on your bottom"

Answer 1

Anything with holes at the legs or with legs, like shorts, trousers, pants, pajamas, panties, trunks [swimming], culottes and skorts can be preceded by the words "pair" of any of those except for bikini.

A bikini has a top and a bottom. You may put on either one. If you only put on the bottom part of a bikini, so be it, you are going topless. It is always going to be singular and never be a pair.

If you put on a pair of bikini bottoms, that would be two items and very odd indeed. So, "She is wearing a pair of bikini bottoms" sounds the BUZZER in most cases, unless the young lady is running away from home and is putting on a number of layers of items of clothing she owns [that is a joke]

Pajamas also have a top and a bottom, called bottoms. If a person is only wearing the bottom item of his or her pajamas, we would generally say:

Oh, look, Johnny's only wearing his pajama bottoms. [That is not a joke.]

And finally, if a person is naked and you tell them to put on some clothes or item of clothing to cover that part of his or her body, if the context is known, you can say:

• put on the bottoms [when it's obvious it's pajamas].

And you would only say:

• put on the bottom [when it's obvious it is a bikini or two-piece bathing suit.]

[note: the British say bathing costume for bathing suit]

I hope I have gotten to the bottom of this issue. I may have missed some detail. I am not a machine.

Answer 2

Garments that partly or wholly cover the legs are described in the plural - She is wearing [a pair of] trousers, shorts, jeans, pyjama bottoms, tracksuit bottoms. In Britain we call the lower part of pyjamas (British spelling) "pyjama trousers".

The lower portion of a bikini does not not extend down the legs of the wearer and is a singular item.

Answer 3

The dictionary has answered the first part already: we say "bikini bottom" but "pajama bottoms"

But we don't don't use either word without "bikini" or "pajama" (or a similar type of clothing) On its own "bottom" means "butt" or "bum". It is part of the body, not a type of clothing.

So do say "she is wearing a bikini bottom", and "she is wearing pajama bottoms". Do so "put on your pajama bottoms".

Don't say "put on your bottoms". Do say "put on your skirt"/"put on your trousers" or (american) "put on your pants"

In American English "pants" are outer clothing and mean the same as "trousers". In British English "pants" are underwear. Panties are undergarments for girls. Shorts are short trousers (AmE short pants), some shorts are designed as undergarments, some are outer garments. Here you have to decide what dialect you are speaking:

British: He put on his pants, then he put on his trousers.

American: He put on his underwear, then he put on his pants.

British/American: She put on her panties.