shorten
Americanverb (used with object)
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shortens,
present (3rd person singular)
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shortened,
past participle, past
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shortening
present participle
verb
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to make or become short or shorter
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(tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)
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(tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat
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gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less
Synonym Usage
Shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail mean to make shorter or briefer. Shorten is a general word meaning to make less in extent or duration: to shorten a dress, a prisoner's sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. To abbreviate is to make shorter by omission or contraction: to abbreviate a word. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. Curtail suggests deprivation and lack of completeness because of omitting some part: to curtail an explanation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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shortenernoun
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overshortenverb
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reshortenverb
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preshortenverb (used with object)
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undershortenverb (used with object)
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unshortenadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shortensimple
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shortenssimple
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have shortenedperfect
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has shortenedperfect
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am shorteningprogressive
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are shorteningprogressive
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is shorteningprogressive
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have been shorteningperfect progressive
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has been shorteningperfect progressive
Past
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shortenedsimple
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had shortenedperfect
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was shorteningprogressive
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were shorteningprogressive
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had been shorteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shorten
Vocabulary lists containing shorten
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.
See Examples For:
The point is to dissuade people from reading and shorten their attention spans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
For Albano, Trent Park is "on a par in terms of the military intelligence that was gained and... was used by the British government to shorten the length of the Second World War".
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Small peptides are often broken down quickly in the body, which can shorten their effects.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It was good to see him shorten up and get a knock,” manager Dave Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
At times he wishes he could disguise it, shorten it somehow, the way the other Indian boy in his school, Jayadev, had gotten people to call him Jay.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The problem, Shurety points out, is that longer fire seasons and more rain during cooler months shortens the window that such burns can be carried out.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The high number of climbers has rekindled concerns about overcrowding on the mountain -- especially if poor weather shortens the climbing window.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Slicing the chicken speeds up the flavor exchange and shortens the cook time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Houston thrives when it shortens the field and avoids asking the offense to sustain long drives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2025
“The king shortens no man’s shadow, though he may try,” Estraven remarked, and the cook looked satisfied.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Whether in its original eight-mile guise, or the shortened 4.3-mile version used since 1983, it has a combination of flowing, high and medium-speed corners matched by very few circuits in the world.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
"Even when we accounted for the fact that they were awake longer when sleep was shortened, participants spent more time being inactive than when they got adequate sleep," Zuraikat says.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Setting aside the shortened 2020 season, Rendon averaged just 51 games per season from 2021 through 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Here’s what you need to know about how schedules are impacted during the shortened work week and over the holiday weekend.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“With her constitution she should have lived to a good old age: her life was shortened by trouble.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Later studies by Wagner's group and other scientists showed that this shortening occurs across many types of cancer and may help tumors adapt, survive, and escape treatment.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Tour de France organisers announced that they were shortening the following day's final stage of the cycling race due to the wildfires ravaging southwest France.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
He has not asked for a commutation, which is a shortening of a criminal sentence being served.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Younger eggs, she said, would likely have improved her IVF odds, potentially shortening the years it took to have her children, and reducing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Ba had found his tongue and was explaining that the fair weather had sped up his ship, shortening the time at sea.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
