shirt-sleeve
Americanadjective
-
not wearing a jacket; informally dressed.
a shirt-sleeve mob.
-
warm enough to live or work in without wearing a jacket or coat.
shirt-sleeve weather in November.
-
simple, plain, and informal; direct and straightforward in approach, manner, etc..
shirt-sleeve diplomacy.
Etymology
Origin of shirt-sleeve
First recorded in 1560–70
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.
United have been without a training kit partner since last season, and their shirt-sleeve sponsor is also set to expire in the summer.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
“Inside these great bubbles of air the explorers, or colonists, would live in a shirt-sleeve environment; only when they went outside would they have to wear pressure suits or travel in closed vehicles.”
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2025
In a surprising gesture, the bespectacled monarch was seen seated in a chair, coat off, suspenders showing, and shirt-sleeve rolled up, with his arm at the ready to donate blood.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
The afternoon’s high, which enabled relaxed shirt-sleeve strolling, was reached after a 27-degree climb from the morning low of 49.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2022
As he spoke, he was dipping into his bag and producing the instruments for transfusion; I had taken off my coat and rolled up my shirt-sleeve.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
