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
2
: all or a large part of one's money or resources
lost his shirt on that business deal
shirtless adjective

Examples of shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Roughly 30 people wearing red shirts and veils staged a silent performance, scattering fabric petals bearing the names of Gazans killed by Israel’s military. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Wearing a silver, shimmery dress, Hurley stood next to her lookalike son, who wore a navy satin shirt and black trousers. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Liu walked the red carpet in modern suiting from Fendi, swapping the traditional button-down and tie for a low-neck shirt. Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 Los Angeles streets were painted with a grayish-white coating to reflect sunlight and keep air temperatures cooler – just like a light shirt will keep you cooler than a dark one in the hot summer sun. Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Eilish wore a look from Thom Browne’s fall 2024 runway: an oversized black and white coat made of black denim ribbon tweed over a white tuxedo shirt, and a slim-fitting black, ankle-length skirt. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 As a crew member wheeled out a bathtub filled with chilly water, Brolin pulled off his jacket and shirt. Shania Russell, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2024 Gosling chose to wear the shirt unbuttoned at the top, opting to go without a tie, let alone a classic bow-tie. Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 At Friday’s hearing, Thomas’s loved ones, wearing matching shirts with his picture, remembered their uncle and brother as funny, caring and hard-working. Jasmine Hilton, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024

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

Dictionary Entries Near shirt

Cite this Entry

“Shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirt. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shirt

noun
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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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