variants
or shortie
plural shorties
1
informal
: someone or something that is short
… a wand helps shorties like me water overhead flowers.—
Vicky Sanderson
Vicky Sanderson… I'm a bit of a shorty (at 5-foot-7) and Jonathan is quite tall (6 feet) …—Luke Dimyan, quoted in USA Today
Luke Dimyan, quoted in USA TodaySoda makers give buyers everything from 7-ounce shorties to 2 liter bottles …—Perry White
Perry WhiteShe currently lives with her horses and a Jack Russell shorty named "Ritzy."—pr.com
pr.com… the hems … let you adjust how tight they are—a feature I appreciate as a shortie, since I can cinch them up if I don't want them to drag on the ground …—Louryn Strampe
Louryn Strampe2
or shawty
plural shawties slang
b
: a romantic partner
especially
: a female romantic partner
… I'm just saving up a couple of dollars to get a crib right now. Somewhere to live for me and my shorty. —Kobra [rapper], quoted in GQ
Kobra [rapper], quoted in GQ … that's my girl, like don't mess with her … That's my shorty … —unidentified speaker, quoted in Corpus of Regional African American Language
unidentified speaker, quoted in Corpus of Regional African American Language One user @KidIncognito_ commented on the video, saying: 'I can't wait for me and my shawty to have our first apartment/house together so we can come together and decorate it.' —Shirley Donlon and Isabella Nikolic
Shirley Donlon and Isabella Nikolic Note: Sense 2 originated in African American English and was popularized by rap and hip-hop music. It has since become widespread.
Examples of shorty in a Sentence
when I was just a shorty
Recent Examples on the Web
A little over a minute later, the Lightning had another runout and another apparent shorty, but replay determined that Anthony Cirelli pushed it into the net with his hand.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
An overeager Robertson put the Stars shorthanded with a penalty in the deepest part of the offensive zone, but Dallas opened the scoring down a man, the first shorty surrendered by the Ducks this season.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
His second shorty of the contest and eighth goal of the campaign put him two off the league leaders, Cole Caufield and Nathan MacKinnon.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 2 Nov. 2025
The Panthers, meanwhile, allowed four goals on 20 chances to the Bolts and scored just three goals on 13 chances on the power play while coughing up a shorty.
—Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2024
After DeBrusk’s go-ahead shorty, Matthew Tkachuk had space 27 seconds later to stuff his second of the night past Ullmark (5-5 at 10:49).
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Ducks end an 0-9 shooting slump to start the third on a shorty by Kyei.
—oregonlive, 29 Jan. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
An overeager Robertson put the Stars shorthanded with a penalty in the deepest part of the offensive zone, but Dallas opened the scoring down a man, the first shorty surrendered by the Ducks this season.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025
His second shorty of the contest and eighth goal of the campaign put him two off the league leaders, Cole Caufield and Nathan MacKinnon.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 2 Nov. 2025
The Panthers, meanwhile, allowed four goals on 20 chances to the Bolts and scored just three goals on 13 chances on the power play while coughing up a shorty.
—Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2024
After DeBrusk’s go-ahead shorty, Matthew Tkachuk had space 27 seconds later to stuff his second of the night past Ullmark (5-5 at 10:49).
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
Ducks end an 0-9 shooting slump to start the third on a shorty by Kyei.
—oregonlive, 29 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Shorty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shorty. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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