short story
Americannoun
-
short stories
plural
noun
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.
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
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.