short-term
Americanadjective
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covering or applying to a relatively short period of time.
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maturing over a relatively short period of time.
a short-term loan.
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(of profit, loss, interest, etc.) of or relating to a short term, especially one year or less.
adjective
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of, for, or extending over a limited period
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finance extending over, maturing within, or required within a short period of time, usually twelve months
short-term credit
short-term capital
Etymology
Origin of short-term
First recorded in 1900–05
Explanation
Anything short-term doesn't last long. A short-term romance might be for a few weeks instead of a lifetime, and a short-term job won't provide you long-term security. The word term often applies to units of time, like a politician's term in office. This word has to do with time, but only small amounts of time: anything short-term occurs for a little while, and then it's over. A short-term illness goes away quickly, and a short-term problem won't weigh you down for long. The opposite of short-term is long-term, which refers to things happening for a greater period of time.
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.
Another liability, a short-term borrowing program called the overnight reverse repo facility that amounted to more than $2 trillion in recent years, already shriveled nearly to zero during a previous balance-sheet drawdown.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
The Powell Fed, in short, offered an unprecedented level of what academics refer to as forward guidance, or indications of any sort that telegraph the likely path of short-term interest rates.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
The worry is that gains predicated on short-term options trades could quickly evaporate.
From MarketWatch • May 17, 2026
In the short-term study, patients with advanced pancreatic cancer undergo biopsies before and after receiving a drug called OMO-103.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2026
By following this principle, the movement would achieve its short-term goal of integrating lunch counters, theaters, buses, and motels.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
