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:
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
Even if you enjoy your job, the transition from holiday to work can be hard, particularly in September as the days begin to shorten.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The lifespan of England’s quintessential oaks, meanwhile, could dramatically shorten to 100-150 years in hotter weather compared with the current 400 years or more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
By the time the district agreed to shorten the punishment, he’d already served 11 days.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
And so she began to teach him mathematics—she called it “maths” and he called it “math” and so they agreed not to shorten the word.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Their method dramatically shortens the processing required after a restoration comes out of the printer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 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
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
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
The court will institute accommodations for Jeffries’s age and potential for fatigue, including shortened days and frequent breaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The contract was eventually settled and the 1995 season was played on a shortened schedule of 144 games, not the full 162-game slate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Harry Brook sparkled in the Headingley gloom to build England's commanding lead over Pakistan on a shortened second day of the first Test.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The shortened school day didn’t bother some students.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
It appeared as cooking oil, frying fat, shortening, salad dressing, mayonnaise and an inconspicuous ingredient in packaged foods.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
The concession lines are shortening, the influencers have mostly gone home, and the grounds of the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Moreover, AI is shortening chip-design cycles and, sooner or later, this will lead to a return of the boom-and-bust cycle of the semiconductor industry, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
By binding to that location, the tool prevented cancer cells from reaching and shortening the end, or tail, of the molecule.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
The one between his ankles was no more than a foot long, shortening his stride to a shuffle.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
