shirt
Americannoun
-
shirts
plural
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a long- or short-sleeved garment for the upper part of the body, usually lightweight and having a collar and a front opening.
-
an undergarment of cotton, or other material, for the upper part of the body.
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a shirtwaist.
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a nightshirt.
idioms
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in one's shirt sleeves, without a coat: Also in one's shirt-sleeves.
It was so hot that they worked in their shirt sleeves.
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lose one's shirt, to lose all that one possesses; suffer a severe financial reverse.
He lost his shirt in the stock market.
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keep one's shirt on, to refrain from becoming angry or impatient; remain calm.
Tell him to keep his shirt on until we're ready.
noun
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a garment worn on the upper part of the body, esp by men, usually of light material and typically having a collar and sleeves and buttoning up the front
-
short for nightshirt undershirt
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informal refrain from losing your temper (often used as an exhortation to another)
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informal to bet all one has on (a horse, etc)
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informal to lose all one has on (a horse, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shirt
before 1150; Middle English schirte, Old English scyrte; cognate with German Schürze, Dutch schort apron, Old Norse skyrta skirt
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.
See Examples For:
The Fulham player wants a spot-kick for a shirt pull by Brian Brobbey.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
There seems to be far less in the incident at full speed, that the hold of the shirt is more fleeting with minimal impact.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
BBC Sport's Kelly Cates, Danny Murphy and Micah Richards discuss Liverpool's denied penalty claim for a pull on Alexander Isak's shirt by Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber and whether the Reds can feel hard done by.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
"There is a clear grab of the shirt," the Spaniard told Match of the Day.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
My white shirt was smudged and dirty from sitting in the soot, and I brushed myself off and walked over to look out the window.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Their shirts and pants are dotted with holes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
While we’re on the subject of shirts, let me ask about yours, Michael.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The band also played in Londonderry earlier this year where they were presented with shirts belonging to local clubs.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“We lost our shirts off it in ’23, ’24 and ’25,” said Rudy Diaz, CEO of Long Beach, Calif.-based Hight Logistics, who started running zero-emission trucks at the end of 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Then they take away my bundle and examine it, shaking out the two shirts and the two sets of curtains.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
