tux
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of tux
First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening
Explanation
A tux is a fancy black suit that you might wear, along with a bow tie, to your senior prom or your wedding. The word tux is a common North American shorthand for tuxedo. If you're invited to an elegant party that's "black tie only," that means you're expected to wear a long, dressy gown or a tux. Tux was first used in the 1920s. Tuxedo, coined in the late 1800s, was named for a fancy country club called Tuxedo Park, which comes from an Algonquian word — possibly p'tuck-sepo, or "crooked river."
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.
He isn’t sure how long he’ll be at OpenAI, when he’ll teach classes again—or the next time he’ll get to wear his tux.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Looking dapper in a pink tux, the star dedicated his prize to "everyone in this room who believes in the power of black music".
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
He’s getting married, and left his tux fitting to do his job once it was apparent there had been a shooting that involved a lawmaker.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2025
As for that yeller tux, well, I can only hope Chalamet has hired someone for the express purpose of keeping any red wine drinkers as far away from him as possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2025
He pushed up the sleeves of his dirty tux shirt, looked at Frankie, and said, “Yeah. They are.”
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
