short interest; short position
Financial term referring to the total number of shares or contracts sold short and not yet covered. Used in stock and futures markets.
The short interest in this stock has surged since last week.
Timing the buyback of short positions is difficult.
Compound of 売り (uri, 'selling') and 玉 (gyoku, 'ball' or 'piece'), where 玉 is a counter-like term used in finance for trading units or positions.