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tee shirt

tee shirt

7 1.0
A casual shirt with short sleeves that fits close to the body
  • noun
  • /tiː ʃɜrt/
translation icon : camiseta
  • His nylon shorts were runner's trunks, pale blue, and his maroon tee shirt said "Longmont Turkey Trot IOK."

Examples

  • That's because you have a hundred tee-shirts in there.

  • She's a rocker, wearing a Who tee-shirt, a mood ring, and just a little too much make-up.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • - Remember that tee-shirt you bought a few years back?

  • Uh, I said, not me, and pulled on my tee-shirt to make them go away.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I take off my tee shirt for the rest of the day.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Well, your tee-shirt may say rock 'n' roll, but your breath says pepperoni, baby.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • If I had one, I'd wear a tee-shirt two sizes too small to accentuate it.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Inside, Nayla changed into an oversized tee shirt and threw herself on her bed.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Out front, two six-year-olds in Star Wars tee-shirts play tug-of-war with a Stretch Armstrong doll.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • On hot summer days, I prefer to wear a comfortable tee shirt and shorts.

Synonyms

T-shirt
vstee shirt
400 1.0

A shirt with no collar and short sleeves usually made of cotton and worn casually

is the same garment but often written or styled in a different common form
tee
vstee shirt
  • Informal
21 1.0

A short-sleeved cotton shirt with no collar worn for casual use

is the same garment but highlights general close pullover shape not neckline

Antonyms

9 2.7

A formal men's shirt with a stiff front, worn with a tuxedo

How Casual

undershirt
13 1.0
tank top
  • US
28 1.3
tee shirt
7 1.0
polo shirt
9 1.4
dress shirt
9 2.7

Surface Forms

tee shirt singular
tee shirts plural
t-shirts plural
t-shirt singular

Morphology

tee + shirt

The meaning 'a casual short-sleeved pullover' is directly and transparently composed from 'tee' (a collarless short-sleeved shirt) and 'shirt' (an upper-body garment), so the overall sense is immediately predictable from the parts. This compound follows a straightforward English noun–noun formation (and is widely adopted across languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

The compound noun tee shirt comes from the simple idea that the shirt makes the shape of the letter T when it is laid flat, so people called it a 'T' shirt. That's why tee shirt now means 'a short, casual shirt'.