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• jersey
  jersey

  noun

  a close-fitting, knitted sweater or shirt.
• Jersey
  Jersey

  noun

  a British island in the English Channel: the largest of the Channel Islands. 44 sq. mi. (116 sq. km). St. Helier.

jersey

¹ American  

[jur-zee] / ˈdʒɜr zi /

noun

• jerseys
  plural

1. a close-fitting, knitted sweater or shirt.

2. a plain-knit, machine-made fabric of wool, silk, nylon, rayon, etc., characteristically soft and elastic, used for garments.

3. (initial capital letter) one of a breed of dairy cattle, raised originally on the island of Jersey, producing milk with a high butterfat content.

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Jersey ² American  

[jur-zee] / ˈdʒɜr zi /

noun

1. a British island in the English Channel: the largest of the Channel Islands. 44 sq. mi. (116 sq. km). St. Helier.

2. Informal. New Jersey.

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jersey ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒɜːzɪ /

noun

1. a knitted garment covering the upper part of the body

2. 1. a machine-knitted slightly elastic cloth of wool, silk, nylon, etc, used for clothing

   2. ( as modifier )

      a jersey suit

3. a football shirt

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Jersey ² British  

/ ˈdʒɜːzɪ /

noun

1. an island in the English Channel, the largest of the Channel Islands: forms, with two other islands, the bailiwick of Jersey; colonized from Normandy in the 11th century and still officially French-speaking; noted for finance, market gardening, dairy farming, and tourism. Capital: St Helier. Pop: 95 732 (2013 est). Area: 116 sq km (45 sq miles)

2. a breed of dairy cattle producing milk with a high butterfat content, originating from the island of Jersey

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Jerseyan
  noun
• Jerseyite
  noun
• jerseyed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• jerseys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of jersey

First recorded in 1575–85; after Jersey

Explanation

Jersey is the soft, stretchy fabric that is most often used to make T-shirts. Because they're usually made from this fabric, the tunic shirts that athletes wear are also called jerseys. Jersey is made from knitted cotton, wool, or synthetic material, and it's used for a lot of commercial clothing — everything from polo shirts to fancy dresses. The name comes from Jersey, a region of what's now the British Isles where jersey was first developed. The word was first used for athletic shirts in the 1840s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jersey Jersey jerseys

A jersey which sold for £7.1m in an auction in May 2022.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But such was Kevin's affection that long after it was over, the green-and-white hooped jersey remained his go-to match day uniform.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Honestly,” Skubal said, “I wanted to get a jersey from him.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

An emotional Cristiano Ronaldo wore Diogo Jota’s jersey, honoring Jota a year after his death following Portugal’s dramatic World Cup win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

I brush the number three on the sleeve of my Renegades jersey.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, are asking House members for written pledges that they won’t block midterm winners from taking their seats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The analysts plugged those prompts into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Muse in three different states: New Jersey, New York and Minnesota.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The National Trust for Jersey said it had secured the rights to acquire the land near Maupertuis Farm in St Clement and hoped to complete the purchase shortly.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The first alpha-gal fatality was confirmed in 2025 after Brian Waitzel, an otherwise healthy JetBlue pilot, died four hours after he ate a hamburger at a backyard barbecue in New Jersey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The two youngest Garfield boys, ages ten and eight, were traveling by train from New Jersey to Ohio.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

The snapshot captured the family of three from the back as they watch a Dodgers game on TV while wearing matching jerseys.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Alongside scenes that feature car wheels, sports jerseys and horse racing, he’s created rich still lifes with Hispanic household staples like Goya cans, Coco Rico soda and bottles of Fabuloso.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Seeing Austria’s umlauted signature grape poured for regulars in Eagles jerseys, I feel vindicated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Neutrals wore NFL jerseys and college jerseys, of bigger schools such as Oklahoma, Miami and Texas.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

One morning, a few weeks later, the chief warder, instead of handing us hammers for our work in the courtyard, gave us each needles and thread and a pile of worn prison jerseys.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• blouse
• pullover
• tunic
• turtleneck