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

Dokotoo Long-Sleeve Sweater For those who live in colder climates, this long-sleeve sweater shirt closely resembles Paltrow’s top, too. —Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025

And, on the (freaky) flip-side, Alexander Skarsgård has shimmied on some kinky graphic vintage tees from South London retro shirt enclave Jerks. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025

Chalamet did the same for Wrangler this year, wearing the heritage brand’s black denim jacket and Western shirt to a film festival. —Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 15 Dec. 2025

One video showed a man dressed in a black shirt firing a large weapon before being tackled by a man in a white T-shirt who wrestled his weapon off him. —Michael Collins, USA Today, 15 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