board shorts

plural noun

variants or less commonly boardshorts

ˈbȯrd-ˌshȯrts 

: swimming shorts of a kind originally designed for water sports (such as surfboarding) that are often long or baggy and have a drawstring on the waistline

In those days, a pair of bathing trunks did not in the least resemble the baggy board shorts that boys and men wear swimming today.

—Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends, 2008

… they're in flip-flops, board shorts or jeans, baseball hats or visors, bead necklaces purchased on spring break.

—Nancy Gibbs et al., Time, 30 May 2005

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

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