n. (UK) underwear and other small items of clothing
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
noun-plural. A man's garment for the hips and thighs; breeches. See breeches.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Knee-breeches, as distinguished from pantaloons and trousers; especially, the close-fitting knee-breeches of the eighteenth century. Also short clothes and smalls.
Word Usage
"He wore only a pair of the smallclothes he used for sleeping, and as he came to a sitting position, the muscles in his stomach tightened and his eyes lit up at the sight of food."