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
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
The slider spun and hung in the middle of the plate, where Voit and his shirt-sleeve ripping arms were happily waiting to pounce on the gift.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2021
The arm of a shirt-sleeve on the line flapped into Dad’s face and got tangled around his neck.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
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.
