Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for short story. Search instead for short history.
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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of short story

First recorded in 1885–90


Compare meaning

How does short-story compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:


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:

More than other literary genres, the short story is produced to meet a ready market—or it once was.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

There’s a tendency to think that, because one has had any success at all, be it a musical callback or a greenlit freelance piece or a short story selected for publication, that they know best.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

The film is based on the short story The Wicker Husband by Ursula Wills-Jones.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Arellano: Mark: They’re in the same town as the setting in the hella scary Steven King short story, “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Toby had just finished a quiz on a short story called “Bullet in the Brain” when the speaker in the classroom came alive and asked him to come to the office.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com