SHORTS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shorts mean? 

• SHORTS (noun)
  The noun SHORTS has 2 senses:

1. (used in the plural) trousers that end at or above the knee

2. underpants worn by men

  Familiarity information: SHORTS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHORTS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(used in the plural) trousers that end at or above the knee

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

short pants; shorts; trunks

Hypernyms ("shorts" is a kind of...):

pair of trousers; pant; trousers ((usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shorts"):

Bermuda shorts; Jamaica shorts ((used in the plural) short pants that end at the knee)

hot pants (skin-tight very short pants worn by young women as an outer garment)

lederhosen (leather shorts often worn with suspenders; worn especially by men and boys in Bavaria)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Underpants worn by men

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

boxers; boxershorts; drawers; shorts; underdrawers

Hypernyms ("shorts" is a kind of...):

underpants (an undergarment that covers the body from the waist no further than to the thighs; usually worn next to the skin)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

 Context examples 

I see, too, the figures at the garden gate: my mother, with her face turned away and her handkerchief waving; my father, with his blue coat and his white shorts, leaning upon his stick with his hand shading his eyes as he peered after us.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My mother wept bitterly when he was gone, but for my own part I was not sorry to see his blue back and white shorts going down the garden walk, for I felt, with the heedless selfishness of a child, that we were closer together, she and I, when we were alone.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)