tighty-whities

American  

[tahy-tee-hwahy-teez, wahy-teez] / ˈtaɪ ti-ˈʰwaɪ tiz, ˈwaɪ tiz /

plural noun

Slang.

1. men’s white, close-fitting underpants or briefs.

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Etymology

Origin of tighty-whities

First recorded in 1990–95; tight ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. ) + whit(e) ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. ) + -s ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

He wears designer suits but his underwear, cheap Russian tighty-whities, is poignant.

From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2022

In the film, we see Harbour standing in his tighty-whities, trying to pull on the skintight Spandex.

From Washington Post • Jul. 11, 2021

Only one of them, however, features a bald man in tighty-whities who, before heading into battle against talking toilets, zombie nerds and other foes, cheerfully calls out, “Tra la laaaa!”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2017

By force of personality, the punch line withers away, transforming into a telling detail: Beau would wear tighty-whities, and he wouldn’t spend one second feeling embarrassed about it.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2016

This is the chief reason I wear tighty-whities.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle