shirt
Americannoun
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shirts
plural
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a long- or short-sleeved garment for the upper part of the body, usually lightweight and having a collar and a front opening.
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an undergarment of cotton, or other material, for the upper part of the body.
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a shirtwaist.
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a nightshirt.
idioms
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in one's shirt sleeves, without a coat: Also in one's shirt-sleeves.
It was so hot that they worked in their shirt sleeves.
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lose one's shirt, to lose all that one possesses; suffer a severe financial reverse.
He lost his shirt in the stock market.
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keep one's shirt on, to refrain from becoming angry or impatient; remain calm.
Tell him to keep his shirt on until we're ready.
noun
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a garment worn on the upper part of the body, esp by men, usually of light material and typically having a collar and sleeves and buttoning up the front
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short for nightshirt undershirt
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informal refrain from losing your temper (often used as an exhortation to another)
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informal to bet all one has on (a horse, etc)
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informal to lose all one has on (a horse, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shirt
before 1150; Middle English schirte, Old English scyrte; cognate with German Schürze, Dutch schort apron, Old Norse skyrta skirt
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
My wife typically gets bored quickly in a vintage clothing store, but when I find her the perfect-fitting Tom Petty or John Lennon shirt, she perks right up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Not since Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink left the club in 2004 have the club had a prolific striker in the number nine shirt.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The last player to wear the shirt before Joao Pedro was Liam Delap, who is currently in talks with Nottingham Forest about leaving Stamford Bridge after scoring only one Premier League goal last season.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“At the end of the day, when the man said, ‘Cut,’ I take that character off like this shirt and hang him up in the closet.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
I wanted to wear my purple flowered shirt with white denim shorts, but the smoothie stain didn’t come all the way out.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Outreach workers in green shirts handed him bottled water and hygiene kits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Normally, those retailers have products including hats, golf polos and shirts on their websites.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
She kept fans tantalized with rumors that a penchant for long-sleeved shirts in her later years concealed two full sleeves of tattoos.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
She’s sold shirts to fans as far away as Norway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The boys are in khaki pants, white shirts, striped ties, and the same blazers.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
