skort

Blend of skirt +‎ shorts. First attested in the 1950s.

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

• Audio (Southern England):

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skort (plural skorts)

1. A pair of shorts designed to look like a skirt via the addition of a panel of fabric.

   Synonyms: scooter, scooter skirt

   • [1957 June 10, “Snappy Skort, New for Sport”, in LIFE‎^[1], Time:

     Fashion has given the English language a new word to contend with: “skort,” a hybrid garment consisting of a mid-thigh-length pleated skirt with a matching pair of short bloomers attached underneath.]

   • 2008 August, Sarah Bowen Shea, “Speedy, Sexy, Cool: What to look for if you're putting shorts behind”, in Runner's World, page 74:

     All the major athletic apparel companies now offer skirts, or skorts. (What's the difference between a skort and a running skirt? Nothing, really, but I like the latter term better.)

   • 2010, Jen Hatmaker, Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load, page 91:

     Trina: I'm holding a pair of skorts.
     Jen: (gasp) Trina, listen very carefully to me. Put the skorts down and back away slowly. BACK AWAY! Look for the nearest exit!

   • 2011, Anna Lefler, The Chicktionary: From A-line to Z-snap, the words every woman should know, page 179:

     Often erroneously confused with culottes (see also: culottes), the skort appears to be a skirt in the front (due to a clever little fabric flap) but reveals its essential shorts-ness from behind. The skort is typically short (often very short) and is designed for sporty activities such as tennis and hiking.

   • 2025 August 16, Grace Cook, “The case for the skort on and off the court”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 5:

     Skorts—a hybrid garment that traditionally blends culotte-style shorts with a wrapover fabric at the front that resembles a skirt—have soared in popularity lately thanks to the rise of “tenniscore” fashion.

An individual garment may be referred to in the singular (following the usage of skirt) or plural (following the usage of shorts).

• culottes

• Korts, stork, torsk

skort

1. indefinite accusative singular of skortur

From Old Norse skortr m, skort n, both derived from the Proto-Germanic adjective *skurtaz (“short, deficient”).

skort m (definite singular skorten, indefinite plural skortar, definite plural skortane)

1. a lack, shortage