shorts
shorts Lexical Profile
shorts Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Trousers that end above or at the knee, commonly worn in warm weather or for athletic activities.
"She packed a few pairs of shorts and a swimsuit for her tropical vacation."
Motion pictures that are notably brief in duration, usually running less than forty minutes, often produced before a feature film or for independent film festivals.
"The animation studio released a compilation of their critically acclaimed animated shorts."
Investors who borrow securities and sell them in the hope of buying them back at a lower price, or the trading positions themselves.
"The sudden surge in the company's stock price caused a massive squeeze, forcing many shorts to cover their positions at a loss."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the garment, 'shorts' functions as a plurale tantum requiring plural verbs and pronouns, and is quantified using the phrase 'pairs of'.
• Rhymes for shorts
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the adjective 'short', evolving in colloquial English during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a shortening of 'short trousers' or 'short pants'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.