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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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Nouns

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

A Florida English professor is suing her former public college, alleging she was fired after its president objected to an award-winning short story she assigned in a freshman literature course.

From Salon Aug. 2, 2026

The six-page hand-written short story, Pryce's Buoy, has been transcribed in full for the first time and studied by Sarah Dillon, professor of literature at the University of Cambridge.

From BBC Jul. 24, 2026

Now it’s planning to monetize a more surprising type of media: the short story.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 4, 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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