lefty

¹ American  

[lef-tee] / ˈlɛf ti /

Or leftie

noun

Informal.

lefties plural

1. a left-handed person.

2. a leftist.

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lefty ² American  

[lef-tee] / ˈlɛf ti /

adjective

1. left-handed.

2. leftist; left-wing.

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adverb

1. with the left hand; in a left-handed manner.

   He bats lefty.

lefty British  

/ ˈlɛftɪ /

noun

1. a left-winger

2. a left-handed person

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• lefties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lefty¹

First recorded in 1925–30; left ¹ + -y ²

Origin of lefty²

First recorded in 1885–90; left ¹ + -y ¹

Example Sentences

After Angel Stadium stretched, second baseman Oswald Peraza hit his sixth homer of the year, a solo shot against lefty Jalen Beeks.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

This year, lefty Kyle Harrison has also broken out.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

The 23-year-old lefty from Georgia turned pro last year after topping the PGA Tour University rankings following a record seven wins in his college career.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026

“People perceive me as this sort of lefty figure; I think I’m more conservative than people think. I just happen to be talking about a government in extremis,” he said.

From Salon • Nov. 4, 2025

Cade was our pitcher—a lefty who’d been scouted by the majors, extremely talented—and I played the outfield, usually right.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith