short time

American  

noun

1. a period or schedule during which the number of working hours is reduced.

   The recession has put most of the manufacturing plants on short time.

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short time British  

noun

1. a system of working, usually for a temporary period, when employees are required to work and be paid for fewer than their normal hours per week due to a shortage of work

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Other Word Forms

• short-time
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

short time

In a villa on the Bay of Naples, a dying general and statesman, only 50 years old, begins to record his extraordinarily eventful life in the short time left to him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The short time frame would allow for little public debate of a bill filed this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

A short time later they were living together and had a child before their relationship ended in early 2020.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

A search-and-rescue mission discovered Formosa a short time later.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

I wanted to be free of those situations, and they had only lasted a short time.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• moment
• second