shirtsleeve

1 of 2

noun

shirt·​sleeve ˈshərt-ˌslēv 

: the sleeve of a shirt

see also:

in one's shirtsleeves

shirtsleeve

2 of 2

adjective

variants or less commonly shirtsleeves

ˈshərt-ˌslēvz 

or shirtsleeved

ˈshərt-ˌslēvd 

1

a

: being without a coat

a shirtsleeve spectator

b

: calling for the removal of coats for the sake of comfort or efficiency

shirtsleeve weather

2

: marked by informality and directness

shirtsleeve diplomacy

Examples of shirtsleeve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Khan pulled up a shirtsleeve to show the panel scars from shackles on his wrists. — BostonGlobe.com, 6 Nov. 2021

The man in the shirtsleeves was prepared to shadowbox to the death. — Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2019

Boyd was wearing a light-brown corduroy jacket with elbow patches that struck me as appropriately literary, and Wheeler was in blue shirtsleeves that matched his eyes. — Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Shuttle astronauts would wear shirtsleeves during takeoff and landing instead of the bulky spacesuits of the Gemini and Apollo days. — Trudy E. Bell, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2016

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for shirtsleeve

• achieve
• believe
• conceive
• deceive
• naive
• perceive
• receive
• relieve
• reprieve
• retrieve
• breve
• cleave

Kids Definition

shirtsleeve

noun

shirt·​sleeve

-ˌslēv

: the sleeve of a shirt