shirt

noun

ˈshərt

: a garment for the upper part of the body: such as

: a cloth garment usually having a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside trousers or a skirt

: undershirt

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

lost his shirt on that business deal

shirtless

ˈshərt-ləs

adjective

Examples of shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hadid wore a crisp white button-up shirt and paired them with a pair of white, straight leg jeans. —

Christian Allaire, Vogue, 21 Sep. 2023 This shirt is available in more than a dozen colors and sizes small to 3XL. —

Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Sep. 2023 Clad in an olive-green military-style shirt, Zelensky demanded that countries that violate U.N. principles and unjustly invade other nations be suspended from their Security Council seats. —

John Hudson, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023 The shirt is long enough to keep the look decent, but not quite long enough to qualify as a dress. —

Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 20 Sep. 2023 This wrinkle-free shirt is made with UPF 50+, providing you with extra sun protection. —

Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2023 The inmates, all of who were male, fled the facility on Sunday wearing white and gray shirts and shorts, the Robeson Township Police Department in Berks County. —

Jolie Lash, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2023 Weak nails may split, crack, or peel, making everyday activities like buttoning a shirt or picking a coin up off the floor challenging. —

Kayla Hui, Mph, Verywell Health, 15 Sep. 2023 The video of Fetterman that Gaetz shared on X featured the senator wearing one of his staple gray button-down shirts with short sleeves and two breast pockets. —

Gabrielle M. Etzel, Washington Examiner, 14 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shirt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirt. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.

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Kids Definition

shirt

noun

ˈshərt

: 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

: undershirt