shirt

[ shurt ]
See synonyms for shirt on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a long- or short-sleeved garment for the upper part of the body, usually lightweight and having a collar and a front opening.

  2. an undergarment of cotton, or other material, for the upper part of the body.

Idioms about shirt

  1. in one's shirt sleeves, without a coat: It was so hot that they worked in their shirt sleeves.: Also in one's shirt-sleeves.

  2. keep one's shirt on, Informal. to refrain from becoming angry or impatient; remain calm: Tell him to keep his shirt on until we're ready.

  1. lose one's shirt, Informal. to lose all that one possesses; suffer a severe financial reverse: He lost his shirt in the stock market.

Origin of shirt

1
before 1150; Middle English schirte,Old English scyrte; cognate with German Schürze,Dutch schort apron, Old Norse skyrtaskirt

Other words from shirt

  • shirtless, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shirt in a sentence

  • I bought me some sateen shirts,–black, too, with turn-down collars and little bits of white stripes.

    Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher | Eleanor Gates
  • Their donations amounted to 2030 shirts, and they obtained 77 shirts and 380 pairs of stockings from New Jersey.

  • We was all in our poachin' clothes, faces blacked, women's nightcaps on, and shirts on over our coats.

    The Chequers | James Runciman
  • Though neat and pretty, it was of a material commonly used for men's shirts.

  • The Adventure Girls were dressed alike in brown breeches, leather boots, and khaki shirts with brown silk ties to match.

British Dictionary definitions for shirt

shirt

/ (ʃɜːt) /


noun
  1. 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

  1. keep your shirt on informal refrain from losing your temper (often used as an exhortation to another)

  2. put one's shirt on informal to bet all one has on (a horse, etc)

  3. lose one's shirt on informal to lose all one has on (a horse, etc)

Origin of shirt

1
Old English scyrte; related to Old English sceort short, Old Norse skyrta skirt, Middle High German schurz apron

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with shirt

shirt

see give the shirt off one's back; hair shirt; keep one's shirt on; lose one's shirt; stuffed shirt.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.