sleeve

[sleev]

noun

1. the part of a garment that covers the arm, varying in form and length but commonly tubular.

2. a protective container, usually thin and flexible with an opening on one side for insertion or removal of an item, as a paper storage envelope for a phonograph record, or a padded case for a tablet or other electronic device: a 24-sleeve CD wallet.

   a form-fitting laptop sleeve;

   a 24-sleeve CD wallet.

3. a pliable tubular or rectangular container for crackers, cookies, and the like that is typically opened at one end to remove individual servings: The largest box has four sleeves of saltines inside.

   I ate a whole sleeve of shortbreads before I realized how many calories that is!

   The largest box has four sleeves of saltines inside.

4. Machinery.,  a tubular piece, as of metal, fitting over a rod or the like.

5. a pattern of tattoos that covers the arm from shoulder to wrist in one integrated piece of tattoo art.

   I got my first tattoo when I turned 18, and by 28 I had full sleeves on both arms.

verb (used with object)

sleeved, sleeving 

1. to furnish with sleeves.

2. Machinery.,  to fit with a sleeve; join or fasten by means of a sleeve.

sleeve

/ sliːv /

noun

1. the part of a garment covering the arm

2. a tubular piece that is forced or shrunk into a cylindrical bore to reduce the diameter of the bore or to line it with a different material; liner

3. a tube fitted externally over two cylindrical parts in order to join them; bush

4. US name: jacket. a flat cardboard or plastic container to protect a gramophone record

5. to prepare oneself for work, a fight, etc

6. secretly ready

verb

1. (tr) to provide with a sleeve or sleeves

Other Word Forms

• sleevelike adjective
• unsleeved adjective
• sleeveless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleeve¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English sleve, slieve, Old English slēfe (Anglian), slīefe; akin to Dutch sloof “apron”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleeve¹

Old English slīf, slēf; related to Dutch sloof apron

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. have something up one's sleeve, to have a secret plan, scheme, opinion, or the like.

   I could tell by her sly look that she had something up her sleeve.

2. laugh up / in one's sleeve, to be secretly amused or contemptuous; laugh inwardly.

   to laugh up one's sleeve at someone's affectations.

see card up one's sleeve; laugh up one's sleeve; roll up one's sleeves; wear one's heart on one's sleeve.

Example Sentences

“We don’t want our club to sell its soul to the highest bidder—and we certainly don’t want to wear it on our sleeves,” said the fan group, Gunners for Peace, on its website.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

"We need a team that decides to roll up its sleeves and solve the country's problems until the presidential election," he said.

Read more on Barron's

"People love to be able to hold the record and read the sleeve notes. They love to be able to look at the art of the record sleeve," he said.

Read more on BBC

There was no rolling up of the sleeves when their team-mate trotted off.

Read more on BBC

For someone known for speaking her mind and wearing her heart on her sleeve in song, Price admits she has trouble opening up about herself.

Read more on Los Angeles Times