Coveralls are a one-piece garment that covers your whole body from shoulders to ankles, designed to protect your regular clothes from getting dirty or damaged. Mechanics wear coveralls when they crawl under cars to change oil, and painters wear them to keep paint splatters off their clothes. Farmers might wear coveralls while working in barns or fields.

The design is simple but clever: coveralls zip or button up the front and include long sleeves and pants all connected together, like a full-body jumpsuit. This means there's no gap where your shirt could ride up or come untucked, so dirt, grease, or chemicals can't sneak through to your clothes underneath. Many coveralls have multiple pockets for tools and come in tough fabrics like denim or canvas that can handle rough work.

You'll also hear them called overalls in some places, though technically overalls are the kind with a bib front and shoulder straps, leaving your arms bare.