1
: a garment for the upper part of the body: such as
a
: a cloth garment usually having a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside trousers or a skirt
2
: all or a large part of one's money or resources
lost his shirt on that business deal
shirtlessness noun

Examples of shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There’s also a hooded jacket, shirts, T-shirts, a cap, shorts and a skateboard in house check, alongside a polo embroidered with a Poland Street graphic. — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2026 Stone was dressed as an aesthetically conscious conservative housewife with a crisp button-down shirt, A-line skirt, peroxide blowout and fake facelift sutures. — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2026 Her favorite little button-down shirts now come with latex insets. — Irene Kim, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026 Appearing to take issue with this assessment, Clifton donned a pair of latex gloves and removed the shirt from an evidence bag before showing Williamson the shirt on the stand. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shirt

Word History

Etymology

Middle English shirte, from Old English scyrte; akin to Old Norse skyrta shirt, Old English scort short

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shirt was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirt. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Kids Definition

1
: a garment for the upper part of the body usually with a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside pants or a skirt
2

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