short-day

[ shawrt-dey ]

adjectiveBotany.
  1. requiring a short photoperiod.

Origin of short-day

1
First recorded in 1915–20

Words Nearby short-day

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use short-day in a sentence

  • The short day was passing from fields and sky; already the tops of the leafless trees mingled with the grey of evening.

  • The short day came to a close and tea-time found the barque rolling her lower yard-arms into the tremendous swells.

    The Viking Blood | Frederick William Wallace
  • The short day ended by a little gymnasium practice but all the girls were rather nervous over the affair.

    The Girls at Mount Morris | Amanda Minnie Douglas
  • He outwalked the short day, and was on the towing-path by the river, somewhat footsore, when the night closed in.

    Our Mutual Friend | Charles Dickens
  • The short day was closing, and already a young moon glimmered on the floods.

    Wandering Heath | Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for short-day

short-day

adjective
  1. (of plants) able to flower only if exposed to short periods of daylight (less than 12 hours), each followed by a long dark period: Compare long-day

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012