shirty

American

[shur-tee] / ˈʃɜr ti /

adjective

shirtier, shirtiest

bad-tempered; irritable; cranky.

shirty British

/ ˈʃɜːtɪ /

adjective

slang bad-tempered or annoyed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

shirtily adverb
shirtiness noun

Etymology

Origin of shirty

First recorded in 1840–50; shirt, in the phrase get someone's shirt out “to annoy” + -y ¹

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.

"I got a bit shirty about it," Durham coach Campbell said.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

I tracked him down and he got very shirty with me, very like, "Who are you? Why are you asking? How did you find me?"

From Salon • Dec. 19, 2023

They mean accidentally killing ourselves with something that we invent for our own benefit, that later acquires a mind of its own and a shirty attitude.

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2017

The next, your bosses are gone in brutal fashion, and it’s just you and a gothy orphan — I’d be a bit shirty myself.

From New York Times • Sep. 29, 2014

“There’s no need to get shirty with me.”

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023