shirt

noun

ˈshərt 

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

b

: undershirt

2

: all or a large part of one's money or resources

lost his shirt on that business deal

shirtless

ˈshərt-ləs 

adjective

shirtlessness noun

shirtlike adjective

Examples of shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Metcalf and the fan, wearing a black-and-blue shirt and a blue wig, were speaking to each other before the two-time Pro Bowler threw a right hand toward the man's face. —CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025

Magazine, the New Heights podcaster described himself as a wedding guest who likes to take his shirt off — and that isn't going to change. —Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025

Clad in an all-black dress jacket and shirt, the immigrant — who was identified only by the number of his case — swears that his last immigration notice was lost in the mail. —Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 22 Dec. 2025

Spivey was last seen wearing khaki pants and a dark-colored shirt. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025

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

Phrases Containing shirt

• aloha shirt
• bloody shirt
• body shirt
• bush shirt
• camp shirt
• dress shirt
• give (someone) the shirt off one's back
• hair shirt
• Hawaiian shirt
• henley shirt
• keep your shirt on
• lose one's shirt
• lumberjack shirt
• muscle shirt
• polo shirt
• put one's shirt on
• ringer T-shirt
• shirt jacket
• sport shirt
• sports shirt
• stuffed shirt
• tee shirt
• T-shirt

Rhymes for shirt

• blurt
• chert
• curt
• dirt
• flirt
• girt
• hurt
• peart
• pert
• skirt
• spurt
• squirt

Kids Definition

shirt

noun

ˈshərt 

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

: undershirt