jersey

noun

jer·​sey ˈjər-zē 

plural jerseys

1

a

: any of various close-fitting usually circular-knitted garments especially for the upper body

b

: an often loose-fitting shirt that is worn by a member of a sports team as part of a team uniform and that typically has the athlete's name and number on the back

a football jersey

2

: a plain weft-knitted fabric made of wool, cotton, nylon, rayon, or silk and used especially for clothing

3

capitalized : any of a breed of small short-horned predominantly yellowish brown or fawn dairy cattle noted for their rich milk

Examples of jersey in a Sentence

The dress is made of cotton jersey.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Royals sported their road gray jerseys against the White Sox. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024

The night after Jaden was drafted by the Pistons, he was honored at a ceremony in Detroit’s Rouge Park presenting him with his own jersey as well as his mother, father and grandfather’s jerseys. —Skyler Trepel, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024

The designer Nova Norgaard fused vintage Italian jerseys sourced by Systemarosa with knitwear to make six designs, including a track top, a ’70s-style dress with a frilled skirt and a long dress with corset-inspired lacing down its sides. —Caitie Kelly Lindsey Tramuta Lauren Cochrane Angela Koh Laura Bannister Gisela Williams, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Seeking jerseys The Los Angeles Clippers are seeking boys and girls jerseys from every basketball team in California to display in the 18,000-seat Intuit Dome, scheduled to open next NBA season. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2024

Adidas has produced the country’s jerseys since the 1950s, during which time the men’s team (either as Germany or West Germany) has claimed four World Cups. —Oscar Holland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

Nike executives, who recently signed a $100 million deal to equip the German national football team, were offered a timely reminder of what not to do when designing the next jersey: Never produce anything that even bears a passing resemblance to Nazi-era symbols. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

The jerseys will be worn by the German soccer team as the country prepares to host the Euro 2024 soccer championship in June. —Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024

Attendees wore Ohtani Dodgers jerseys with his name in English or in Japanese, and some had his jersey from last year’s World Baseball Classic championships, in which Ohtani had led Japan to victory. —Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Jersey, one of the Channel Islands

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

jersey

noun

jer·​sey ˈjər-zē 

plural jerseys

1

: a plain knitted fabric

2

: a close-fitting knitted garment (as a shirt)

3

capitalized : any of a breed of small usually light tan dairy cattle having short horns and noted for their rich milk

Geographical Definition

Jersey

geographical name

Jer·​sey ˈjər-zē 

1

island in the English Channel; one of the Channel Islands; capital Saint Helier area 45 square miles (117 square kilometers)

Note: The Jersey breed of cattle, the knit fabric called jersey, and the types of upper-body garments called jerseys all derive their names from this island.

2

new jersey

—an informal name

Jerseyan

ˈjər-zē-ən 

noun

Jerseyite

ˈjər-zē-ˌīt 

noun