Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Plainclothes security officers guard the detention center, a Ministry of Social Affairs office building in Yaoundé, the capital of the Central African country.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Plainclothes agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey, on a sidewalk Tuesday as she walked to see friends for the traditional fast-breaking during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

Plainclothes security personnel were also present during Abolfazl's funeral, shushing mourners who wanted to express their anger, according to the sources.

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2022

Plainclothes municipal workers swarmed into the busy neighborhood, seizing contraband.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2021

Plainclothes detectives soon were quietly identified to me, by a nod, a wink.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey