short-form

American  

[shawrt-fawrm] / ˈʃɔrtˌfɔrm /

Or shortform

adjective

1. noting or relating to journalistic content or a genre of journalism characterized by short articles.

2. noting or relating to other types of print or visual media characterized by content that is short in length.

   short-form video clips.

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noun

1. journalistic or other media content so characterized.

Etymology

Origin of short-form

short ( def. ) + form ( def. )

Compare meaning

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

• short-form vs. long-form

Example Sentences

Oracle is the cloud provider for TikTok, a short-form video app that faced threats of a ban in the United States because it’s owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

The rise of short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube—as well as our habit of using multiple devices simultaneously—has shortened our attention spans, said researchers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

When my friends asked me why I preferred TikTok to Reels, their short-form platform of choice, I said, “My TikTok algorithm knows me better than I know myself.”

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2026

The new policy was published after investors closed a deal with TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance on Thursday to run the popular short-form video app's business in the US.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

In some instances, no short-form name exists - then the long-form name must serve for all usages.

From The 1992 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency