short interest

American

noun

Finance.

the total amount by which a single seller or all sellers are short in a particular stock or commodity or in the market as a whole.

Etymology

Origin of short interest

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

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.

Short interest in the stock has added to the volatility.

From Barron's

High short interest suggests a potential short squeeze, where buying by short-sellers could trigger a near-term rally in software stocks.

From Barron's

Other companies with short interest near the top of their historical ranges include Oracle, with almost 35 million shares shorted; Adobe with 12 million; ServiceNow at 21 million; Intuit at 5.9 million; Palo Alto Networks with 46 million; and Zscaler with 7.7 million.

From Barron's

Short interest in Strategy has jumped about 40% from a low point in September 2025, according to an analysis Tuesday from S3 Partners.

From Barron's

S3 estimates that convertible-arbitrage shorts have declined by roughly 2.5 million to 5 million shares since mid-September, while total short interest has risen by about 9.2 million shares.

From Barron's

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