shorthand

[ shawrt-hand ]

/ ˈʃɔrtˌhænd /

noun

a method of rapid handwriting using simple strokes, abbreviations, or symbols that designate letters, words, or phrases (distinguished from longhand).

a simplified or makeshift manner or system of communication: We spoke in a kind of pidgin shorthand to overcome the language barrier.

adjective

using or able to use shorthand.

written in shorthand.

of or relating to shorthand.

Words nearby shorthand

shortfall, shortfin corvina, shortgrass, shorthair, shorthaired, shorthand, shorthand typist, shorthead, shorthold tenancy, shorthorn, shortie

Origin of shorthand

First recorded in 1630–40; short + hand

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for short-hand

This is referred to by people today who recognize the existential danger by the short-hand acronym of ‘TBDO’—‘The Big Die Off.’
Wingnuts Excerpt—The Hatriots: Armed and Dangerous|John Avlon|March 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I here send you his dying speech, as it was exactly taken by a friend in short-hand.
The Punster's Pocket-book|Charles Molloy Westmacott
One is educating herself as a short-hand reporter, and the other has a lecture ready for next winter on Shakespeare's Women.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science|Various
Understanding "short-hand," I would go to my cell in the evening and jot down what I had learned during the day.
The Twin Hells|John N. Reynolds

Language forms are the short-hand of thought; without facile command of language, thinking is vague, clumsy, and ineffective.
The Measurement of Intelligence|Lewis Madison Terman
Spencer's next activity was an inquiry into his father's system of short-hand, which he found to be better than Pitman's.
Herbert Spencer|J. Arthur Thomson

British Dictionary definitions for short-hand

shorthand

/ (ˈʃɔːtˌhænd) /

noun

a system of rapid handwriting employing simple strokes and other symbols to represent words or phrases
(as modifier)a shorthand typist

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

shorthand

noun

adjective

Content related to shorthand

Words nearby shorthand

Origin of shorthand

Examples from the Web for short-hand

British Dictionary definitions for short-hand

noun