shorty - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Old English -iġ

Middle English -y

English -y

English shorty

From short + -y.

shorty (plural shorties)

  1. (informal, sometimes derogatory) Something or someone that is shorter than normal.
  2. (informal) A term of endearment for a child, younger sibling, shorter person, etc.
  3. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) A child.
    • 1995, Vibe, page 102:
      "I think we loved 'The Bridge Is Over' more than anybody else," says Nas, who was just a shorty when he first heard the opening shot.
    • 1997, William Ayers, A kind and just parent: the children of juvenile court, Beacon Pr:
      Like one day when I was just a shorty my mother was drinking a beer and a policeman told her to pour it out. He was way too little to be saying that to my mother. No way I was going to let him put handcuffs on her.
    • 1997, Robert Jackson, The Darkside: Chronicling the Young Black Experience, Noble Press Incorporated:
      Ever since they introduced the world to Patrick Ewing and Michael Graham, Georgetown has been the Black school of choice for every shorty [...]
    • 2012, Julius B. Black, Married To The Game, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 13:
      “Girl when I was just a shorty, some cats from New York came through putting down there work and muscling anybody too weak for the streets, but anyway they shot my oldest brother, who was alright with Ju and them.
  4. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) An attractive young female, especially one who is sexually available.
    • 1996, “Doin' It”, in Mr. Smith, performed by LL Cool J:
      I guarantee, shorty, it's real, baby, stick it out / [...] / You talk a good one, shorty, now you're makin' me sweat
    • 1999, Vibe:
      But seeing my boy on the cover of your magazine with three fine shorties made me think twice about the assumptions I've made.
    • 2006, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Uptown Dreams, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 38:
      “Yo, man,” Vincent looked up at Sharif. “How is it that you always have the fine shorties hanging out at your crib?”
    • 2015, Ashon Thadon, Unpunished: some deeds go that way, BookRix, →ISBN:
      "It wasn't that fine ass shorty I saw in the car earlier?" Travis inquired.
  5. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) A girlfriend.
    • 2003, Ebony, page 34:
      These are the things that separate a date from a fiancee, a shorty from a wife, a one-night stand from a lifetime commitment.
    • 2011, A.D. King, "Nola's Island": Vacation From Degradation, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 47:
      Demarco said pulling down his cap “Yeah, that's what I be hearing, my shorty told me how Shelly be bragging about the time ya'll had.”
    • 2012, Edd Mcnair, Turning Point, Urban Books, →ISBN, page 42:
      My shorty called my baby moms, I'm in some shit, and all my real gear at shorty crib.
    • 2013, Jah King Entertainment, Time 2 Set It Off!: downloadable copy, Jah King Inc., →ISBN, page 90:
      It was my birthday weekend, and one of my shorties decided she wanted to take a playa to Amsterdam to celebrate, we took a sightseeing tour bus and we saw everything there was to see.
    • 2014, Antonio Harriston, Lust, Money, Envy, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 169:
      I don't give a fuck, what he wants from me, I'll give him anything to get my shorty back, I swear, he better not have hurt or touched my shorty, or I'm a kill 'em when I see'em.
  6. A short-legged and sleeveless or short-sleeved wetsuit.
    • 2006 December 8, “All you need to know about: Scuba diving”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 September 2014:
      However, many buy a wetsuit, because it can be pretty unpleasant to put on a musty hire suit. There are various thickness options, but a good compromise is a 5mm one-piece wetsuit and a 5mm 'shorty' worn over the top. (In warmer climes, use either suit on its own).
    • 2010 May 21, Catharine Cooper, “Chasing Down The Muse: The art of the paddle”, in Daily Pilot‎[3], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 December 2025:
      Our instructors, Ryan and Shannon, offered us hot coffee to warm up, and a variety of wetsuit options to settle the attire issue. Carlos chose his own full suit. I grabbed my spring shorty with long sleeves.
    • 2022 November 29, Kate Bussmann, “Forget the Dryrobe – there’s a new versatile outfit for the nation’s wild swimmers”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph‎[4], London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 November 2022:
      Now that it’s below 9C I’m layering a shorty wetsuit over a long-sleeve swimsuit, with neoprene socks and gloves.
  7. (informal, ice hockey) A shorthanded goal.

a short person

shorty (not comparable)

  1. (informal) Shorter than normal, especially of clothing.
    • 1993 December 30, Kate Constable, “Fashion: Relax] It's all up to you ..”, in The Independent‎[5], London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 July 2022:
      Last seasons long, droopy skirt is being seen to by the scissors turning it into this season's shorty version, still handily teamed with last season/this season/next seasons comfy sloppy Joe. The effect won't just be felt by the very young. While we started off the winter craving a slightly dour and earnest uniform of dark colours, sensible fabrics and long skirts, the shorty skirt signals a renewed lightness and chirpiness.
    • 2010 March 20, Deborah Netburn, “Baby carriers: One size does not fit all”, in Los Angeles Times‎[6], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 March 2021:
      “It’s a shorty wrap— 2.6, which means it’s 2.6 meters,” she [Lesley Doyle] said. “We kind of geek out over this stuff.”
    • 2019 October 10, Eve O'Neill, “The Best Rain Boots for Men and Women”, in Wirecutter‎[7], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 August 2020:
      Reviewers often mention that Hunters, specifically the tall boots, don’t fit their calves—and that’s why we’d choose the shorty version, which is short enough that this problem doesn’t crop up.

shorty (third-person singular, feminine, nominative or objective case)

  1. (African-American Vernacular, slang) Synonym of she or her, especially of a younger woman.
    • 2002 August 18, David Simon, Ed Burns, “The Hunt” (15:40 from the start), in The Wire, season 1, episode 11, spoken by Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), spoken by Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson):
      Bell: Savino didn't tip you off to that bitch?
      Wee-Bey: Pshh, wasn't no time for that. He get up out the car, we see him go up the block like we said, right? Pshh, after that, he outa sight, we bring it home like we planned, baby.
      Bell: Well, shorty was a cop.
    • 2023 February 5, Za Morant (@APotOfGold_), Twitter‎[8]:
      Shorty really killed this 😭
    • 2023 February 1, Hoodville (@Hoodville_), Twitter‎[9]:
      I asked shorty for her name and she said “earn it”
    • 2023 February 5, The Sound Hashira (@chillixci), Twitter‎[10]:
      Shorty said
    • 2023 February 1, Chronic E (@therealchronice), Twitter‎[11]:
      shorty concussed and she said not my problem 😭
    • 2023 January 29, @Squid_wurdz on IG (@squid_wurdz), Twitter‎[12]:
      Me tryna show shorty I’m just as useful as that toy

shorty m (plural shortys)

  1. (pair of) boyshorts, French knickers