short-list

¹ American  

[shawrt-list] / ˈʃɔrtˌlɪst /

verb (used with object)

1. to put on a short list.

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short list ² American  

Or shortlist

noun

1. a list of those people or items preferred or most likely to be chosen, as winnowed from a longer list of possibilities.

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short list British  

noun

1. a list of suitable applicants for a job, post, etc, from which the successful candidate will be selected

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verb

1. to put (someone) on a short list

Etymology

Origin of short list

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

To cook the same thing repeatedly — to rely on a short list of meals that work — can begin to feel like a failure of imagination, or worse, a failure of love.

From Salon

There’s a special kind of comfort in having a short list of meals you know, with almost mathematical certainty, will land.

From Salon

Her recipe only calls for a short list of ingredients that also happen to be pantry staples.

From Salon

Scientists have now added another to that short list by observing neutrinos convert carbon atoms into nitrogen inside a massive underground detector.

From Science Daily

“It also had to be somebody that has the chops of a serious technical actor. That is a very short list.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• waiting list