sleeve
Americannoun
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the part of a garment that covers the arm, varying in form and length but commonly tubular.
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a protective container, usually thin and flexible with an opening on one side for insertion or removal of an item, as a paper storage envelope for a phonograph record, or a padded case for a tablet or other electronic device: a 24-sleeve CD wallet.
a form-fitting laptop sleeve;
a 24-sleeve CD wallet.
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a pliable tubular or rectangular container for crackers, cookies, and the like that is typically opened at one end to remove individual servings: The largest box has four sleeves of saltines inside.
I ate a whole sleeve of shortbreads before I realized how many calories that is!
The largest box has four sleeves of saltines inside.
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Machinery. a tubular piece, as of metal, fitting over a rod or the like.
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a pattern of tattoos that covers the arm from shoulder to wrist in one integrated piece of tattoo art.
I got my first tattoo when I turned 18, and by 28 I had full sleeves on both arms.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with sleeves.
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Machinery. to fit with a sleeve; join or fasten by means of a sleeve.
idioms
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have something up one's sleeve, to have a secret plan, scheme, opinion, or the like.
I could tell by her sly look that she had something up her sleeve.
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laugh up / in one's sleeve, to be secretly amused or contemptuous; laugh inwardly.
to laugh up one's sleeve at someone's affectations.
noun
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the part of a garment covering the arm
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a tubular piece that is forced or shrunk into a cylindrical bore to reduce the diameter of the bore or to line it with a different material; liner
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a tube fitted externally over two cylindrical parts in order to join them; bush
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US name: jacket. a flat cardboard or plastic container to protect a gramophone record
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to prepare oneself for work, a fight, etc
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secretly ready
verb
Other Word Forms
- sleeveless adjective
- sleevelike adjective
- unsleeved adjective
Etymology
Origin of sleeve
First recorded before 950; Middle English sleve, slieve, Old English slēfe (Anglian), slīefe; akin to Dutch sloof “apron”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like, I wear my heart on my sleeve - you have my opinions, you have my feelings.
From BBC
He offered to show me a large surgery scar, rolling up his right sleeve to reveal the pale pink flesh — and a well-trained bicep.
From Los Angeles Times
He wore a long shirt with sleeves rolled up just below his elbows.
From Literature
I wiped the tears from my face with the sleeve of my shirt.
From Literature
Opal stopped crying and wiped the snot from her nose on her sleeve.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
