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shorty

or short·ie

[shawr-tee]
noun, plural short·ies.
  1. a person of less than average stature (sometimes used as a disparaging and offensive term of address).
  2. a garment designed to be of short length, as a hospital bed jacket.
  3. Also shaw·ty [shaw-tee] /ˈʃɔ ti/. Slang.
    1. a girl or woman: We watched the shorties on the dance floor, all lookin' so fine.
    2. a girlfriend or sweetheart: Me and my shorty went to that new club over on Ninth last night; what a scene!
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adjective
  1. noting a garment designed to be of short length: a shorty nightgown; shorty pajamas.
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Origin of shorty

First recorded in 1905–10; short + -y2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shorty

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Shorty was a sort of foreman, and was allowed much freedom of speech.

  • Shorty, who had just come in from riding, unbuckled his spurs and kicked them under his bed.

  • Billings's eye lighted on Shorty, with an expression of having seen him somewhere.

  • So many fell on top of Shorty that he was unable to rise and extricate himself.

  • "That's enough," said Shorty, with his mind in a tumult, as to how he was to get these papers into his possession.

Word Origin and History for shorty

n.

"short person," 1888, from short (adj.) + -y (3).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper