shorthand
Americannoun
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a method of rapid handwriting using simple strokes, abbreviations, or symbols that designate letters, words, or phrases (distinguished from longhand).
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a simplified or makeshift manner or system of communication.
We spoke in a kind of pidgin shorthand to overcome the language barrier.
adjective
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using or able to use shorthand.
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written in shorthand.
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of or relating to shorthand.
noun
Etymology
Origin of shorthand
Explanation
Shorthand is a way of writing quickly, using a lot of abbreviations. Reporters often use shorthand during interviews to keep up with how fast people talk. It can be hard to write as fast as people speak, and that's where shorthand comes in. Shorthand is a method of rapidly transcribing exactly what someone says using special symbols, the way a court stenographer or a newspaper reporter does. It's less common to use shorthand these days, with the availability of recording devices, but in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was standard in offices.
Vocabulary lists containing shorthand
When You Reach Me
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My Life with the Chimpanzees
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The Boy Who Dared
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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.
“If the army or Sepah ask Iranian companies, they should help them,” he said, using the Iranian shorthand for the Revolutionary Guard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
As they craft, artisans chant aloud the design code handwritten on a strip of paper known as talim -- shorthand of ancient symbols for numbers and colours -- knotting the threads string by string.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Indeed, it is almost revolutionary to see emotionally resonant teenage characters who aren’t mired in abuse, addiction or some kind of horror; leveraging dysfunction has become shorthand for “drama.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
And that old saw has always been a fairly decent shorthand, if only because older people tend to be the most reliable voters.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The word organic has become a kind of shorthand for food that is healthier or more natural or chemical-free.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
