Meanings
- USdatedinformalpluralplural onlyMen's or boys' briefs, usually white.
We sat in our jockey shorts and t-shirts drinking whiskey.
2018, C. Dale Young, The Affliction, page 143 more examples
He had left his swimming suit at home, but going around in his jockey shorts seemed a good substitute.
1980, William Hogan, The Quartzsite Trip, page 209Back in his stateroom, sitting in his black jockey shorts, Scotty once again felt the exhaustion creep back into his body.
2000, Charles Edward Gibb, Murder on the Cocktail Circuit, page 194In my jockey shorts I quickly tiptoed on bare feet down the still corridor to embrace my beaming rosy-cheeked bedfellow before the elevator arrived.
2011, Howard S. Rowland, Robinson Crusoe in Suburbia, page 64Synonyms: underwear
Synonyms & antonyms
nounMen's or boys' briefs, usually white.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(used in the plural) short tight-fitting underpants (trade name Jockey shorts)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Former trade name, from jockstrap, since they were regarded as offering a similar level of physical support.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jockey shorts. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jockey%20shorts
“jockey shorts.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jockey%20shorts. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jockey shorts,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jockey%20shorts.
Source: jockey shorts on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.