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Synonyms

short story

American  

noun

  • short stories
    plural
  1. a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words.


short story British  

noun

  1. a prose narrative of shorter length than the novel, esp one that concentrates on a single theme

"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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Etymology

Origin of short story

First recorded in 1885–90

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Example Sentences

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Prabhakar had assigned “Bettering Myself,” a short story by acclaimed author Ottessa Moshfegh, in her Freshman English II course.

From Salon Aug. 2, 2026

Celyn Jones said it was like a "homecoming" and a "culture moment" taking part in the film adaptation of the Dylan Thomas short story.

From BBC Jul. 29, 2026

The first short story that will run in Drafting is an 1,800-word tale based on the Showtime cable series “The L Word” and written by Ilene Chaiken, the show’s co-creator and another co-founder of Run-A-Muck.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 4, 2026

In his short story “Intimacy,” Raymond Carver uses the metaphor of “dead leaves” to describe the unresolved wounds between the narrator and his ex-wife.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 3, 2026

And yesterday, after class, he’d shoved the short story anthology deep into his locker, refusing to bring it home.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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