Shorts are a garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the upper legs or more, sometimes extending as far as the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg, either as outer or undergarment. They're called "shorts" because they're a shortened version of trousers which cover the entire leg. Transatlantic terminological confusions In British English the term "short trousers"'s used, but only for shorts that're a short ver… (More on Shorts)