short

[ shawrt ]

/ ʃɔrt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: short / shorted / shorter / shortest on Thesaurus.com

adjective, short·er, short·est.

having little length; not long.

having little height; not tall: a short man.

extending or reaching only a little way: a short path.

brief in duration; not extensive in time: a short wait.

brief or concise, as writing.

rudely brief;abrupt; brusque: short behavior.

low in amount; scanty: short rations.

not reaching a point, mark, target, or the like; not long enough or far enough.

below the standard in extent, quantity, duration, etc.: short measure.

having a scanty or insufficient amount of (often followed by in or on): He was short in experience.

being below a necessary or desired level; lacking: The office is short due to winter colds and flu.

Cooking.

(of pastry and the like) crisp and flaky; breaking or crumbling readily from being made with a large proportion of butter or other shortening.
(of dough) containing a relatively large amount of shortening.

(of metals) deficient in tenacity; friable; brittle.

(of the head or skull) of less than ordinary length from front to back.

Stock Exchange.

not possessing at the time of sale commodities or stocks that one sells.
noting or pertaining to a sale of commodities or stocks that the seller does not possess, depending for profit on a decline in prices: You can cover your short transactions by purchasing securities in the distribution at the reduced price.

Phonetics.

lasting a relatively short time: “Bit” has a shorter vowel-sound than “bid” or “bead.”
belonging to a class of sounds considered as usually shorter in duration than another class, as the vowel of but as compared to that of bought, and in many languages serving as a distinctive feature of phonemes, as the a in German Bann in contrast with the ah in Bahn, or the t in Italian fato in contrast with the tt in fatto (opposed to long).
having the sound of the English vowels in bat, bet, bit, hot, but, and put, historically descended from vowels that were short in duration.

Prosody.

(of a syllable in quantitative verse) lasting a relatively shorter time than a long syllable.
unstressed (def. 1).

(of an alcoholic drink) small: a short drink.

Chiefly British. (of whiskey) undiluted; straight.

Ceramics. (of clay) not plastic enough to be modeled.

Ropemaking. hard (def. 39).

adverb

abruptly or suddenly: to stop short.

briefly; curtly.

on the near side of an intended or particular point: The arrow landed short.

Baseball.

with the hands higher on the handle of the bat than usual: He held the bat short and flied out.
in a fielding position closer to home plate than usual.

noun

something that is short.

that which is deficient or lacking.

Usually the short . the sum and substance of a matter; gist: Here's the short of it: they broke up two weeks before the wedding.See also long¹ (def. 39).

shorts,

trousers, knee-length or shorter.
short pants worn by men as an undergarment.
knee breeches, formerly worn by men.
Finance. short-term bonds.
Mining. crushed ore failing to pass through a given screen, thus being of a larger given size than a specific grade.Compare fine¹ (def. 31a).
remnants, discards, or refuse of various cutting and manufacturing processes.

a size of garment for men who are shorter than average: He wears a 42 short.

a garment, as a suit or overcoat, in such a size.

Military. a shot that strikes or bursts short of the target.

Electricity. short circuit.

Prosody. a short sound or syllable.

Baseball. shortstop (def. 1a).

Movies. short subject.

Finance. short seller.

a deficiency or the amount of a deficiency.

Chiefly British. a small drink of straight whiskey; shot.

verb (used with object)

to cause a short circuit in.

to cheat by giving less than is expected or deserved; shortchange.

Stock Exchange. to sell (stocks, commodities, etc.) that one does not possess, with the intent of making a profit by purchasing them later at a lower price: He speculates on bubbles by shorting stocks that are overpriced, overhyped, and overdue for a slide.

verb (used without object)

to short-circuit.

OTHER WORDS FOR short

5 terse, succinct, laconic, condensed.

6 curt; sharp, testy.

7 poor; deficient, inadequate, wanting, lacking.

12 crumbly.

14 brachycephalic.

See synonyms for short on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR short

3, 4 long.

See antonyms for short on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about short

cut short, to end abruptly; terminate: Her nap was cut short by a loud noise from outside.

fall / come short,

to fail to reach a particular standard.
to prove insufficient; be lacking: Her funds fell short, and she had to wire home for help.

for short, by way of abbreviation: Her name is Patricia, and she's called Pat for short.

in short,

in summary.
in few words; in brief: In short, this has been rather a disappointing day.

make short work of. work (def. 53).

run short, to be in insufficient supply: My patience is running short.

sell short,

Stock Exchange. to sell stocks or the like without having them in one's actual possession at the time of the sale.
to disparage or underestimate: Don't sell Tom short; he's really an excellent engineer.

short and sweet. See entry at short and sweet.

short for, being a shorter form of; abbreviated to: “Phone” is short for “telephone.”

short of,

less than; inferior to.
inadequately supplied with (money, food, etc.).
without going to the length of; failing of; excluding: Short of murder, there is nothing he wouldn't have tried to get what he wanted.

Origin of short

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective schort, Old English sceort; cognate with Old High German scurz “short,” Old Norse skortr “shortness, scarcity”

synonym study for short

4. Short, brief are opposed to long, and indicate slight extent or duration. Short may imply duration but is also applied to physical distance and certain purely spatial relations: a short journey. Brief refers especially to duration of time: brief intervals.

OTHER WORDS FROM short

short·ness, nouno·ver·short, adjectiveo·ver·short·ness, nounun·short, adjective

Words nearby short

shoreward, shoreweed, Shorewood, shoring, shorn, short, short account, short-acting, shortage, short and sweet, short ballot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use short in a sentence

In short, he moved closer to Pelosi’s position after a monthlong showdown.
Trump moves closer to Pelosi in economic aid talks, and House speaker must decide next move|Rachael Bade, Erica Werner|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
Antebellum, the film, has its roots in a short story the duo wrote in October 2017.
‘Antebellum’ tackles the past head on in an effort to ‘move forward’|radmarya|September 17, 2020|Fortune
When a QED calculation leads to an infinite sum, cut it short.
How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics|Charlie Wood|September 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Rapid short-term cooling following the Chicxulub impact at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus

For best results, cut a short section of FireCord and remove the red strand.
This essential survival tool can save your life 10 different ways|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|September 15, 2020|Popular-Science
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The precision it took to craft such a cohesive, wholly compelling work over 12 years is nothing short of remarkable.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In short, fatherhood gets little attention in policy debates.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the qualities Mario Cuomo brought to public life—compassion, integrity, commitment to principle—remain in short supply today.
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion|Jonathan Alter|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In short, we found ways to couch messages of failure or inadequacy.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the stems are quite bare; on other occasions they are partly branched; in any case the branches are short.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Many of their cannon balls that fell far short of us, were collected and returned to them with powerful effect.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He was tall and of familiar figure, and the firelight was playing in the tossed curls of his short, fair hair.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
They are ovoid in shape, and lie in pairs, end to end, often forming short chains.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
And since he was a very fast runner—for short distances—he met Grandfather Mole just as the old chap was crawling up the bank.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for short

short

/ (ʃɔːt) /

adjective

of little length; not long

of little height; not tall

of limited duration

not meeting a requirement; deficientthe number of places laid at the table was short by four

(postpositive; often foll by of or on) lacking (in) or needful (of)I'm always short of money

concise; succinct

lacking in the power of retentivenessa short memory

abrupt to the point of rudenessthe salesgirl was very short with him

finance

not possessing the securities or commodities that have been sold under contract and therefore obliged to make a purchase before the delivery date
of or relating to such sales, which depend on falling prices for profit

phonetics

denoting a vowel of relatively brief temporal duration
classified as short, as distinguished from other vowels. Thus in English (ɪ) in bin, though of longer duration than (iː) in beat, is nevertheless regarded as a short vowel
(in popular usage) denoting the qualities of the five English vowels represented orthographically in the words pat, pet, pit, pot, put, and putt

prosody

denoting a vowel that is phonetically short or a syllable containing such a vowel. In classical verse short vowels are followed by one consonant only or sometimes one consonant plus a following l or r
(of a vowel or syllable in verse that is not quantitative) not carrying emphasis or accent; unstressed

(of pastry) crumbly in textureSee also shortcrust pastry

(of a drink of spirits) undiluted; neat

(of betting odds) almost even

have someone by the short and curlies informal to have (someone) completely in one's power

in short supply scarce

short and sweet unexpectedly brief

short for an abbreviation for

adverb

abruptlyto stop short

briefly or concisely

rudely or curtly

finance without possessing the securities or commodities at the time of their contractual saleto sell short

caught short or taken short having a sudden need to urinate or defecate

fall short

to prove inadequate
(often foll by of) to fail to reach or measure up to (a standard)

go short not to have a sufficient amount, etc

short of exceptnothing short of a miracle can save him now

noun

anything that is short

a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer

phonetics prosody a short vowel or syllable

finance

a short contract or sale
a short seller

a short film, usually of a factual nature

See short circuit (def. 1)

for short informal as an abbreviationhe is called Jim for short

in short

as a summary
in a few words

verb

See short circuit (def. 2)

Derived forms of short

shortness, noun

Word Origin for short

Old English scort; related to Old Norse skortr a lack, skera to cut, Old High German scurz short

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with short

short

In addition to the idioms beginning with short

short and sweet
short end of the stick, the
short for
short haul
short notice, on
short of
short order
short run
short shrift, give

also see:

by the short hairs
caught short
cut short
fall short
for short
in brief (short)
in short order
in short supply
in the long (short) run
life is too short
long and short of it
long (short) haul
make a long story short
make short work of
nothing short of
run short
sell short
stop short

short

OTHER WORDS FOR short

OPPOSITES FOR short

Idioms about short

Origin of short

synonym study for short

OTHER WORDS FROM short

Words nearby short

Words related to short

How to use short in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for short

Derived forms of short

Word Origin for short

Other Idioms and Phrases with short