shorten
to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat.
Sports. choke (def. 8).
to become short or shorter.
(of odds) to decrease.
Origin of shorten
1synonym study For shorten
Other words for shorten
Other words from shorten
- short·en·er, noun
- o·ver·short·en, verb
- pre·short·en, verb (used with object)
- re·short·en, verb
- un·der·short·en, verb (used with object)
- un·short·en, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shorten in a sentence
Other reporters have since been arrested, and foreign journalists have complained about having their visas shortened.
At least 30 percent of them will serve their shortened sentence in a private prison.
Private Prisons Rule With Little Oversight on America’s Border | Caitlin Dickson | June 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe second game was shortened when disgusted fans began throwing their rented seat cushions onto the field at dusk.
The Great Paul Hemphill Celebrates the Long Gone Birmingham Barons | Paul Hemphill | March 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShortened in medical parlance to H. flu, it bears no relation to the viral infection influenza that strikes every winter.
Thanks to Anti-Vaxxers, Mumps Are Back. What’s Next? | Russell Saunders | March 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe race has never been canceled, though it was shortened in 1981, when the wind chill factor dropped to 71 degrees below zero.
Frozen Turkey Bowling Below Zero at Minnesota’s Ice Box Festival | Michael Daly | January 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The long axis of the hip-roof crystal is often so shortened that it resembles the envelop crystal of calcium oxalate.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThat this terrible tragedy shortened the life of his father is certain.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThere need be no fear that with shortened hours of labor the sum total of production would fall short of human needs.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockWhen the organist played CCC sharp, wind was admitted to the valve, which opened, and this shortened the pipe.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerAnd except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
His Last Week | William E. Barton
British Dictionary definitions for shorten
/ (ˈʃɔːtən) /
to make or become short or shorter
(tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)
(tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat
gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less
Derived forms of shorten
- shortener, noun
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
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