shorty

English

Alternative forms

• shortie
• shawty (hip-hop)

Etymology

From short +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɔː.ti/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈʃoɹ.ti/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈʃoː.ti/

  • Audio (AU)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ti

Noun

shorty (plural shorties)

1. (informal) A short person.
2. (informal) A term of endearment for a child, younger sibling, shorter person, etc.
3. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) A child.
   • 1995, Vibe, page 102:

     "I think we loved 'The Bridge Is Over' more than anybody else," says Nas, who was just a shorty when he first heard the opening shot.

   • 1997, William Ayers, A kind and just parent: the children of juvenile court, Beacon Pr:

     Like one day when I was just a shorty my mother was drinking a beer and a policeman told her to pour it out. He was way too little to be saying that to my mother. No way I was going to let him put handcuffs on her.

   • 1997, Robert Jackson, The Darkside: Chronicling the Young Black Experience, Noble Press Incorporated:

     Ever since they introduced the world to Patrick Ewing and Michael Graham, Georgetown has been the Black school of choice for every shorty

   • 2012, Julius B. Black, Married To The Game, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 13:

     “Girl when I was just a shorty, some cats from New York came through putting down there work and muscling anybody too weak for the streets, but anyway they shot my oldest brother, who was alright with Ju and them.

4. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) An attractive young female, especially one who is sexually available.
   • 1996, “Doin' It”, in Mr. Smith, performed by LL Cool J:

     I guarantee, shorty, it's real, baby, stick it out / [...] / You talk a good one, shorty, now you're makin' me sweat

   • 1999, Vibe:

     But seeing my boy on the cover of your magazine with three fine shorties made me think twice about the assumptions I've made.

   • 2006, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Uptown Dreams, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 38:

     “Yo, man,” Vincent looked up at Sharif. “How is it that you always have the fine shorties hanging out at your crib?”

   • 2008, “Just Dance”, in The Fame, performed by Lady Gaga ft. Colby O'Donis:

     Shawty I can see that you got so much energy, / The way you twirling up them hips round and round

   • 2015, Ashon Thadon, Unpunished: some deeds go that way, BookRix, →ISBN:

     "It wasn't that fine ass shorty I saw in the car earlier?" Travis inquired.

5. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) A girlfriend.
   • 2003, Ebony, page 34:

     These are the things that separate a date from a fiancee, a shorty from a wife, a one-night stand from a lifetime commitment.

   • 2011, A.D. King, "Nola's Island": Vacation From Degradation, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 47:

     Demarco said pulling down his cap “Yeah, that's what I be hearing, my shorty told me how Shelly be bragging about the time ya'll had.”

   • 2011, “Mistletoe”, in Under the Mistletoe, performed by Justin Bieber:

     I should be playin' in the winter snow, but I'ma be under the mistletoe / With you, shawty with you

   • 2012, Edd Mcnair, Turning Point, Urban Books, →ISBN, page 42:

     My shorty called my baby moms, I'm in some shit, and all my real gear at shorty crib.

   • 2013, Jah King Entertainment, Time 2 Set It Off!: downloadable copy, Jah King Inc., →ISBN, page 90:

     It was my birthday weekend, and one of my shorties decided she wanted to take a playa to Amsterdam to celebrate, we took a sightseeing tour bus and we saw everything there was to see.

   • 2014, Antonio Harriston, Lust, Money, Envy, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 169:

     I don't give a fuck, what he wants from me, I'll give him anything to get my shorty back, I swear, he better not have hurt or touched my shorty, or I'm a kill 'em when I see'em.

Derived terms

• shorty shorts

Pronoun

shorty (third-person singular, feminine, nominative or objective case)

1. (African-American Vernacular, slang) she or her, especially of a younger woman
   • 2002 August 18, David Simon, Ed Burns, “The Hunt” (15:40 from the start), in The Wire, season 1, episode 11, spoken by Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), spoken by Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson):

     Bell: Savino didn't tip you off to that bitch?
     Wee-Bey: Pshh, wasn't no time for that. He get up out the car, we see him go up the block like we said, right? Pshh, after that, he outa sight, we bring it home like we planned, baby.
     Bell: Well, shorty was a cop.

   • 2023 February 5, Za Morant (@APotOfGold_), Twitter‎:

     Shorty really killed this 😭

   • 2023 February 1, Hoodville (@Hoodville_), Twitter‎:

     I asked shorty for her name and she said “earn it”

   • 2023 February 5, The Sound Hashira (@chillixci), Twitter‎:

     Shorty said

   • 2023 February 1, Chronic E (@therealchronice), Twitter‎:

     shorty concussed and she said not my problem 😭

   • 2023 January 29, @Squid_wurdz on IG (@squid_wurdz), Twitter‎:

     Me tryna show shorty I’m just as useful as that toy

Translations

Anagrams

• Rosyth, hostry

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɔʁ.ti/

Noun

shorty m (plural shortys)

1. (pair of) boyshorts, French knickers