1
: the player position in baseball for defending the infield area on the third-base side of second base
2
: the player stationed in the shortstop position

Examples of shortstop in a Sentence

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Noun
Pratt made his fourth error of the postseason at shortstop, the Brewers’ ninth in 10 games, bouncing his throw past first baseman Jake Bauers on a leadoff grounder by Díaz. — Ronald Blum, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 Pratt made his fourth error of the postseason at shortstop, the Brewers’ ninth in 10 games, bouncing his throw past first baseman Jake Bauers on Díaz's leadoff grounder. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 Replay showed that shortstop Cooper Pratt pulled his foot off second base and the call was overturned, scoring a run. — Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026 Deploying Jarvis as the everyday shortstop in 2027 would be a roll of the dice. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shortstop

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shortstop was in 1857

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Cite this Entry

“Shortstop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shortstop. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

: the baseball infielder whose position is between second and third base

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