guayabera

American  

[gwahy-uh-ber-uh, gwah-yah-be-rah] / ˌgwaɪ əˈbɛr ə, ˌgwɑ jɑˈβɛ rɑ /

noun

• guayaberas
  plural

1. a sport shirt or lightweight jacket, often with several large front pockets, modeled upon a loose, smocklike shirt originally worn by men in Cuba.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• guayaberas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of guayabera

First recorded in 1935–40; from Latin American Spanish, further origin uncertain; perhaps from Spanish guayaba “guava (fruit)” (the shirt pockets being large enough to hold guavas)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guayabera guayaberas

“I’m wearing pastel colors today for him. I normally don’t. I usually wear a lot of black and gray,” said L.A. local Cesar Carbajal, who was wearing a baby blue guayabera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025

Councilmembers John Lee and Marqueese Harris-Dawson were in attendance, as was Acevedo, clad in a white guayabera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

She spoke with disgust of Cuban officials, saying she couldn’t bring herself to wear traditional guayabera dress because they do.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

He was easy to spot, often dressed in somehow still-pristine white — as he was on this evening, stepping off the East River ferry in white pants, a blue guayabera shirt and brown fisherman sandals.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2021

He had soft, white, fat hands and a plump face and wore a white guayabera shot with gold threads.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Unlike most politicians, who dress to the nines, Burton wore ties reluctantly and showed up at meetings with governors wearing guayaberas, rarely with his hair in place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2025

I get my shirts and khakis at Marshalls or Ross Dress for Less, and guayaberas at the Anaheim Indoor Swap Meet or Olvera Street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024

Fans come dressed in Chanel finery, gleaming guayaberas, or Stetsons color-coordinated with cinto piteados — leather belts stitched with arabesque designs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2019

Brides wear ternos, and grooms, guayaberas, or lightweight open neck shirts.

From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2019

Up and down the street were entrepreneurial immigrants in colorful clothes—embroidered guayaberas and flowing kente and spray-painted T-shirts—hustling everything from mix tapes to T-shirts to incense from crowded sidewalk tables.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore