a garment for the upper body made of cotton or a similar fabric, with a collar and sleeves, and with buttons down the front:tonight he’s smartly dressed in shirt and tie
[usually with modifier] a shirt-like garment made of stretchable material, typically having a short row of buttons at the neck, worn as casual wear or for sports:a rugby shirt
[with modifier]British used to refer to membership of a particular sports team:Smith increased his chances of a Great Britain shirt with a penalty shot save
Phrases
keep your shirt on
informal don’t lose your temper; stay calm.
lose one's shirt
informal lose all one’s possessions.
put one's shirt on
British informal bet all one has on; be sure of:they’ll confirm it’s him, I’ll put my shirt on it
the shirt off (or on) one's back
informal used to refer to someone’s last remaining possessions:he had fled to France with nothing but the shirt on his back
Derivatives
shirted
adjective
[often in combination]:white-shirted bouncers
shirtless
adjective
Origin:
Old Englishscyrte, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse skyrta(compare with skirt), Dutch schort, German Schürze 'apron', also to short; probably from a base meaning 'short garment'
