shirtsleeve

1 of 2

noun

shirt·​sleeve ˈshərt-ˌslēv How to pronounce shirtsleeve (audio)
: the sleeve of a shirt

shirtsleeve

2 of 2

adjective

variants or less commonly shirtsleeves or shirtsleeved
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
Phrases
in one's shirtsleeves or in shirtsleeves
: wearing a shirt but no coat

Examples of shirtsleeve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
After all, who doesn’t want to stretch their shirtsleeves? Men's Health, 9 Mar. 2023 The food writer in me tugged at my shirtsleeve. Betsy Andrews, Travel + Leisure, 1 Mar. 2021
Adjective
The tent protects Webb from dust and dirt when engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., transport the telescope out of the relatively dust-free cleanroom and into the shirtsleeve environment of the vibration and acoustics testing areas. Denise Chow, NBC News, 24 Dec. 2021 New Year’s brought shirtsleeve weather to the U.S. East and record high temperatures to Europe as the Northern Hemisphere on Wednesday was more than 2.6 degrees (1.4 degrees Celsius) hotter than the late 20th century average. Time, 5 Jan. 2023 See all Example Sentences for shirtsleeve 

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of shirtsleeve was in 1530

Dictionary Entries Near shirtsleeve

Cite this Entry

“Shirtsleeve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirtsleeve. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

shirtsleeve

noun
shirt·​sleeve
-ˌslēv
: the sleeve of a shirt
Last Updated: - Definition revised
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