black-tie

[blak-tahy]

adjective

requiring that guests wear semiformal attire, especially that men wear black bow ties with tuxedos or dinner jackets: a black-tie dance.

Compare white-tie.

Origin of black-tie

First recorded in 1930–35

black tie

noun

a black bow tie, worn with a dinner jacket.

semiformal evening wear for men (distinguished from white tie).

Origin of black tie

First recorded in 1855–60

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for black-tie

tux, tuxedo

Examples from the Web for black-tie

Contemporary Examples of black-tie

As Margaret Lyons writes, “This wasn't an awards ceremony so much as a black-tie celebration of the straight white male gaze.”
Juvenile Misogynist Seth MacFarlane Is Not Funny
Amy Zimmerman
June 3, 2014
People are constantly shown wearing white tie to black-tie occasions and vice versa.
History Wrong in Weinstein's New Madonna Movie ‘W.E.’
Andrew Roberts
February 6, 2012
Indeed, the social season in Palm Beach is a busy one, with a black-tie gala every night through spring.
Who Is Brooke Mueller?
Tricia Romano
March 6, 2011
Movie stars and producers turned out in force for the black-tie affair.
The White House Goes Glam
Rebecca Dana
November 24, 2009
The black-tie crowd at the New York Hilton roared with delight.
Caroline Kennedy's Next Move
Lloyd Grove
May 5, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for black-tie

black tie

noun

a black bow tie worn with a dinner jacket

(modifier) denoting an occasion when a dinner jacket should be worn

Compare white tie

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