board shorts

British

plural noun

shorts with longer legs, originally meant to protect a surfer's legs against the surfboard

"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

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 haven’t had any luck in finding the grown-up surfer girl version of Roxy board shorts.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Unlike when I tried to borrow from the boys section, the board shorts weren’t comically long or baggy or cut straight across the waist.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

And true to Roxy’s style bona fides, the board shorts looked good enough to pair with a T-shirt.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

Colletti: For me, it was board shorts all the time.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Tyler’s the Surfer Dude: board shorts and a tank top even though it’s only fifty degrees out.

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

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