Leftie or lefty?
leftie is a noun meaning “Alternative form of lefty”; lefty is a noun meaning “One who is left-handed”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) lefty is about 8.5 times as common as leftie.
What is the difference between leftie and lefty?
| leftie | lefty | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, adjective |
| Meaning | Alternative form of lefty | CanadaUSinformalOne who is left-handed UKinformalOne who has left-wing political views CanadaUSLeft-handed |
| Example | none recorded | I'll bet my lefty he won't show up for work today |
| Forms | lefties | lefties |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈlɛfti/ |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words | 1.8 times per million words |
Sources: leftie and lefty in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of leftie and lefty
leftie
- 1
Alternative form of lefty
lefty
- 1
CanadaUSinformalOne who is left-handed
- 2
CanadaUSLeft-handed
- 3
UKinformalOne who has left-wing political views
- 4
CanadaUSIntended for left-handed use
The lefty scissors are the ones with the red plastic handles
- 5
slangOne's left testicle
I'll bet my lefty he won't show up for work today
- 6
UKinformalLeft-wing
Lefty media
- 7
slangOne's left hand
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, leftie or lefty?
leftie appears about once in every 5 million words; lefty 1.8 times per million words.
leftie about once in every 5 million wordslefty 1.8 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).