black-tie

¹

[blak-tahy]

adjective

1. requiring that guests wear semiformal attire, especially that men wear black bow ties with tuxedos or dinner jackets.

   a black-tie dance.

black tie

²

noun

1. a black bow tie, worn with a dinner jacket.

2. semiformal evening wear for men (white tie ).

black tie

noun

1. a black bow tie worn with a dinner jacket

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of black-tie¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Origin of black-tie²

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

At the six-minute Crown Court hearing on Tuesday, Coote, who wore a navy suit and black tie, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his guilty plea.

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He wore a lightweight black raincoat and loafers, a dark business suit, a crisp white shirt, a narrow black tie and a pearl stick-pin.

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In another sign of respect for Pope Francis, the King wore a black tie when he met the New Zealand prime minister in Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

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Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Grammy-weekend charity event — dress code: “colorful black tie” — raised more than $5 million for music professionals affected by the wildfires that devastated much of L.A. last month.

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He had started his shift early that day following rumours of the monarch's declining health, presenting rolling news coverage from 14:00, before confirming the Queen's death that evening while wearing a black tie.

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Related Words

• tux 
• tuxedo