Southpaw Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms southpaw American [south-paw] / ˈsaʊθˌpɔ /

noun

1. a person who is left-handed.

2. Sports.

   1. a player who throws with the left hand, especially a pitcher.

   2. Boxing. a boxer who leads with the right hand and stands with the right foot forward, using the left hand for the most powerful blows.

adjective

1. left-handed.

southpaw British / ˈsaʊθˌpɔː /

noun

1. a boxer who leads with his right hand and off his right foot as opposed to the orthodox style of leading with the left

2. any left-handed person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

1. of or relating to a southpaw

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does southpaw mean? A southpaw is a left-handed person, especially a boxer or baseball pitcher. It is also an adjective meaning “left-handed.”What are other words are related to southpaw:

• pitcher
• boxing
• baseball

Etymology

Origin of southpaw

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; south + paw 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Australia have two left-handed openers in Head and Weatherald and Stokes has the best average against southpaws of all of the England quicks still standing.

From BBC

Serrano started strongly with sharp body work and accurate left hands from her southpaw stance, before the contest developed into a scrappier affair than expected.

From BBC

A straight left from the champion's southpaw stance landed cleanly and regularly in the third round as the gap in class became increasingly clear.

From BBC

But Benavidez began landing combinations to the head and body with the speed of a lightweight, switching between southpaw and orthodox at will.

From BBC

Things seemed to be winding down for the southpaw from Dallas after he was limited to seven games last year because of offseason shoulder surgery and a bone spur in his left big toe.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.