short interest

noun

, Finance.

1. the total amount by which a single seller or all sellers are short in a particular stock or commodity or in the market as a whole.

Word History and Origins

Origin of short interest¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Redditors have pounced on several companies with short interest in an attempt to force a short squeeze.

From Quartz

The meteoric rise in GameStop's stock price is being called a short squeeze by most but that's not what's happening, says an expert on short interest and the market.

From Axios

Then again it's an open question how much stock is owned on the street and how great a short interest has been created.

From Project Gutenberg