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:
Supporting that movement could shorten the amount of time material remains in the intestines and reduce the opportunity for excessive protein fermentation.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
As the Sun gets lower in the sky and the days shorten, temperatures generally fall as we head further into autumn.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Though the government announced last month that it would shorten the work day for public sector employees to ease the electricity crisis, several parts of Caracas have begun experiencing power cuts.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
By the time the district agreed to shorten the punishment, he’d already served 11 days.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
“By raising the left side,” he says, “I’ll know how much I have to shorten the pylon.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
The results therefore do not show that taking a tyrosine supplement shortens lifespan.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
This setup reduces Nebius’ dependence on building new grid transmissions and shortens the timeline to power its facilities, the company said.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
That density shortens iteration cycles, improves yields, accelerates ramp-up and compounds tacit knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
That means they will be hoping to come to an agreement with Red Bull that shortens that timeframe.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
“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
News of his shortened prison stint comes as reports of Combs’ special lifestyle have emerged in a report by NBC News published Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Give it your declining heart-rate variability, shortened sleep, increased mileage and stressful Tuesday, and it can fashion a plausible story connecting them, even when the explanation remains uncertain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Mild cognitive impairment, often shortened to MCI, describes measurable problems with memory or thinking that are greater than expected with normal aging but do not necessarily interfere substantially with everyday life.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
The child was born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a rare genetic disorder associated with a severely shortened life expectancy, and had been receiving palliative care since shortly after birth.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Each pair would play a shortened set, where the first boy to win four games with a two-game advantage would win the set.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
WIPO, the UN patent and innovation agency, said AI was shortening the paths of discovery and fuelling much of the world's economic growth.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
One phrase highlighted in her research is "incompetent cervix" used to describe the shortening of the cervix that can increase risks of pregnancy loss and early birth.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Taken together, the evidence indicates that the strongest crustal shortening and collision-related deformation in the Northern Andes had mostly ended before the late Miocene.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Investors who are uncomfortable with ongoing volatility might consider shortening their portfolio duration rather than exiting fixed income entirely, said Willcox.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“But aren’t you shortening her life by giving her so much?”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
