Tighties

noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Form-fitting cycling shorts. plural, plural-only, slang

    "I've worn these in town and on long trail rides, and I'm awed by how such simple pants work so well in the saddle. I wouldn't choose the Shins for a multiday stage race but somehow, even among the megaexpensive Euro tighties I own, these understated, made-in-San Francisco knickers have become a favorite."

  2. 2
    Men's or boys' briefs. US, plural, plural-only, slang

    "A padded knee shattered my balls. I doubled over in the hallway, coughing up blood and yellow stuff I thought might be bile. Though wracked with pain, I was glad I wore briefs. My tighties kept those precious little orbs in place."

Example

More examples

"I've worn these in town and on long trail rides, and I'm awed by how such simple pants work so well in the saddle. I wouldn't choose the Shins for a multiday stage race but somehow, even among the megaexpensive Euro tighties I own, these understated, made-in-San Francisco knickers have become a favorite."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From tight + -ies.

Etymology 2

Clipping of tighty whities.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.