meaning.today

tuxedo

noun

In short

A tuxedo is an evening jacket or a suit built around that style of jacket. The word can also describe a cat whose darker coat and contrasting pale chest resemble evening wear. Tux is an informal shortening.

What does tuxedo mean?

The jacket and the suit

Tuxedo can refer to an evening jacket or to a suit that includes that style of jacket. Tux is an informal shortened form.

A dress-code label is a related subject, but it is not a reason to treat every suit or every formal outfit as a tuxedo.

What is a tuxedo cat?

The cat use describes a contrasting coat pattern that resembles evening wear. A dark back and pale chest are the familiar image.

A tuxedo cat is not a separate breed. The name describes appearance. The related word calico also crosses from clothing or fabric vocabulary into animal description, but it refers to a different pattern.

Where does the name come from?

The clothing name comes from Tuxedo Park, New York. A short, sourced explanation is enough; uncertain stories about the first wearer or the original meaning of the place-name should stay qualified.

A dark green cat with a bright cream chest and small gold bow tie sits upright with a curved tail and a pair of neat white paws, looking like it wears formal evening clothes.

Where does it come from?

The clothing word is named after Tuxedo Park in New York. Sources connect its adoption with the local country club, but a precise first-wear story should not be treated as settled fact. The deeper origin of the place-name is uncertain; several explanations have been proposed.

How to use it in a sentence

“He rented a tuxedo for the evening reception.”

“The tuxedo cat had a white chest and dark back.”

“She picked up her tux before the concert.”

Sources and updates

Definitions and examples are written in our own words from the sources above. Published .