sleeveless

IPA/ˈsliːv.ləs/
KK[slˈivlɪs]IPA/ˈsliːv.ləs/

sleeveless — adjective

  • sleevelesspositive
  • more sleevelesscomparative
  • most sleevelesssuperlative

1. describes a piece of clothing that is made without the fabric sections that cove

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

describes a piece of clothing that is made without the fabric sections that cover the arms — for example, a top, dress, or jacket that leaves the shoulders and arms bare.

Example

Kim wore a sleeveless summer dress to the beach picnic.

sleeveless + [clothing type] + to/for [occasion]

The children's sleeveless shirts showed their sunburned shoulders.

Common collocations
  • sleeveless dress
  • sleeveless top
  • sleeveless shirt
  • sleeveless vest
  • sleeveless jacket
  • sleeveless hoodie
  • sleeveless gown
  • sleeveless blouse
Synonyms
  • without sleeves

    periphrastic equivalent, less common as a pre-noun modifier

  • arm-baring

    descriptive but less common, used mostly in fashion writing

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

sleeveless + noun [clothing item]

Usage Note

Commonly used as an attributive adjective before the noun for a garment (sleeveless shirt / dress / top / jacket). Not used after linking verbs in the same way as most adjectives — a shirt is not described as 'sleeveless' in the predicate as often as it is used before the noun.

Common Mistakes

She bought a sleeves dress for summer.
She bought a sleeveless dress for summer.
'sleeves' is the plural noun for the fabric tubes covering the arms; 'sleeveless' is the adjective meaning 'without sleeves'.
He wore a short sleeves shirt.
He wore a sleeveless shirt.
'short-sleeved' means the sleeves stop above the elbow, not that there are no sleeves at all.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Sleeveless is the standard everyday word for any garment that has no sleeves at all — for example, a tank top, a summer dress, or a vest. 'Without sleeves' is a descriptive phrase that means the same thing but is less common as a pre-noun modifier; you would say 'a dress without sleeves' rather than 'a without-sleeves dress.' 'Arm-baring' appears mostly in fashion magazines and emphasises the exposed skin more than the missing sleeve. 'Short-sleeved' is the most frequent confusion point: short-sleeved garments do have sleeves, they just end above the elbow, whereas sleeveless garments have no sleeves at all. If you wear a short-sleeved shirt, your arms are covered to the elbow; if you wear a sleeveless shirt, your shoulders and whole arm are bare.

without sleevesarm-baringsleeveless ↗short-sleeved ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

EnglishOld English: slīefen / slīfEnglish: -lēas

Formed in Middle English from 'sleeve' (the fabric covering for the arm) plus the suffix '-less' meaning 'without'. The word has been used since the 1500s to describe garments, though the original literal meaning (a garment without sleeves) is the only sense in modern use — the figurative archaic senses (profitless, frivolous) have died out.