Righty is an informal word for someone who is right-handed, meaning they naturally use their right hand for most tasks like writing, throwing, or eating. About nine out of ten people are righties, which is why scissors, desks, and many tools are designed with right-handed people in mind.

In baseball, a righty pitcher throws with their right arm, while a righty batter stands on the left side of home plate and swings right-handed. Coaches pay attention to whether players are righties or lefties because it affects strategy and matchups.

The word works as a casual, friendly label. You might hear someone say, “I'm a righty, so I can't show you how to hold the violin left-handed.” It's simply descriptive, not a value judgment. Left-handed people are called lefties or sometimes southpaws in baseball.

People also sometimes use righty in the phrase “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey,” a helpful reminder that you turn most screws and jar lids to the right (clockwise) to tighten them and to the left (counterclockwise) to loosen them.