shirtsleeve

1 of 2

noun

shirt·​sleeve ˈshərt-ˌslēv 

: the sleeve of a shirt

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

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

shirtsleeve

noun

shirt·​sleeve

-ˌslēv

: the sleeve of a shirt