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• black tie
  black tie

  noun

  a black bow tie, worn with a dinner jacket.
• black-tie
  black-tie

  adjective

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

black tie

¹ American  

noun

• black ties
  plural

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

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

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black-tie ² American  

[blak-tahy] / ˈblækˈtaɪ /

adjective

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

   a black-tie dance.

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black tie British  

noun

1. a black bow tie worn with a dinner jacket

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• black ties
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of black tie¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Origin of black-tie²

First recorded in 1930–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black tie black-tie

Some reports suggested a black tie dress code, complete with top hats for men and evening gloves for women.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

One thousand attendees in black tie are expected.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

Holland wore black trousers, a black jacket, a red dress shirt and black tie while Zendaya donned a strapless black gown with a fringed skirt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Crowded into the ballroom were Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, several cabinet members and top lawmakers, and hundreds of guests in black tie.

From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026

I was a little distracted because I still had to go up to Emmanuel’s place to borrow a black tie and an arm band.

From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

Instead, reporters sat in their black-tie attire and behaved like sycophants.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

The first lady’s remarks came after a man armed with a shotgun, handgun and several knives breached security at the Washington black-tie event on April 25.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026

Guests at the black-tie White House Correspondents' Dinner scrambled to hide under tables.

From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026

The dinner—known in media circles as “nerd prom”—is an annual black-tie event at the iconic wing-shaped 1960s-era Washington Hilton that brings together some of the biggest names in journalism and politics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

When we hosted an event, I wanted everyday people to show up, not just those accustomed to black-tie attire.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• tux
• tuxedo

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