T-shirt

/ˈtiːʃɜːt/

//ˈtiːʃɜːt// noun

"t-shirt" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“T-shirt” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lightweight shirt without buttons, usually with short sleeves and no collar. Often made of cotton and frequently bears a picture or slogan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-t-shirt · T-shirt · English

T-shirt · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for T-shirt
PropertyValue
HeadwordT-shirt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtiːʃɜːt/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “T-shirt” in English

T-shirtranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

T-shirt is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtiːʃɜːt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

T-shirt has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From its shape, 1920s. The correct English form is T-shirt, spelled T---S-H-I-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lightweight shirt without buttons, usually with short sleeves and no collar. Often made of cotton and frequently bears a picture or slogan.
  2. 2
    An undershirt.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how T-shirt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Many bands make more money from T-shirt sales than from sale of tickets.
  2. Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.

Etymology

From its shape, 1920s.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "T-shirt"?
"T-shirt" is spelled T---S-H-I-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtiːʃɜːt/.
What does "T-shirt" mean?
As a noun, "T-shirt" means: A lightweight shirt without buttons, usually with short sleeves and no collar. Often made of cotton and frequently bears a picture or slogan.
How do you pronounce "T-shirt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "T-shirt" is /ˈtiːʃɜːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "T-shirt"?
From its shape, 1920s. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list