lefty

¹ American  

[lef-tee] / ˈlɛf ti /

Or leftie

noun

Informal.

lefties plural

1. a left-handed person.

2. a leftist.

---

lefty ² American  

[lef-tee] / ˈlɛf ti /

adjective

1. left-handed.

2. leftist; left-wing.

---

adverb

1. with the left hand; in a left-handed manner.

   He bats lefty.

lefty British  

/ ˈlɛftɪ /

noun

1. a left-winger

2. a left-handed person

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lefties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lefty¹

First recorded in 1925–30; left ¹ + -y ²

Origin of lefty²

First recorded in 1885–90; left ¹ + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The lefty walked Tommy Edman but was pulled before seeing Pages, who ended the inning against Casey Legumina by lining out softly to short.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

This year, lefty Kyle Harrison has also broken out.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

The 24-year-old Sasaki threw a smooth 16 pitches, punching out the right-handed hitting Zavala, and inducing a pair of groundballs to shortstop from the lefty Kim.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2026

"The only problem is that I'm a lefty and they're all right-handed guitars."

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

The pitcher’s a lefty, and I love facing lefties because I see the ball so much better leaving a lefty’s hand.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner