shortchange

[ shawrt-cheynj ]

See synonyms for: shortchange shortchanged on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),short·changed, short·chang·ing.

to give less than the correct change to.
to deal with unfairly or dishonestly, especially to cheat.

Origin of shortchange

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Other words from shortchange

shortchanger, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shortchange in a sentence

The Kendricks claim that the story of King’s imprisonment has been shortchanged by historians.
As MLK faced a crisis, Kennedy and Nixon made political calculations | Nick Bryant | January 22, 2021 | Washington Post
In a written statement to ProPublica, the company said it “strongly” disagrees that it shortchanged workers.
All a Gig-Economy Pioneer Had to Do Was “Politely Disagree” It Was Violating Federal Law and the Labor Department Walked Away | by Ken Armstrong, Justin Elliott and Ariana Tobin | January 22, 2021 | ProPublica
She was responding to concerns that South Carolinians were being shortchanged in favor of people in other parts of the country.
‘Pixie dust’: Why some vaccine sits on shelves while shortages intensify nationwide | Isaac Stanley-Becker, Lena H. Sun | January 22, 2021 | Washington Post
Some Independent Businesses have been accused of shortchanging their agents.
Meet the Customer Service Reps for Disney and Airbnb Who Have to Pay to Talk to You | by Ken Armstrong, Justin Elliott and Ariana Tobin | October 2, 2020 | ProPublica
Students who shortchanged their sleep scored 53 percent worse in the behavioral areas than kids who slept close to the recommended 9 or 10 hours per night.
Do you sleep enough to banish unpleasant moods? | Avery Elizabeth Hurt | March 11, 2020 | Science News For Students

And even that aerial effort is being shortchanged, military insiders tell The Daily Beast.
Drone ‘Shortage’ Hampers ISIS War | Dave Majumdar | November 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Resources needed to stabilize Afghanistan after a quarter century of war were deployed to Iraq, and Afghanistan was shortchanged.
GOP Candidates Are Wrong to Urge a Second Front War in Iran | Bruce Riedel | January 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
During the same period our national security needs were steadily shortchanged.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for short-change

short-change

verb(tr)

to give less than correct change to
slang to treat unfairly or dishonestly, esp by giving less than is deserved or expected

Derived forms of short-change

short-changer, noun

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

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