shorten

[shawr-tn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shorten ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to make short or shorter.

to reduce, decrease, take in, etc.: to shorten sail.

to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat.

Sports. choke(def 8).

verb (used without object)

to become short or shorter.

(of odds) to decrease.

Origin of shorten

First recorded in 1505–15; short + -en¹

Related formsshort·en·er, nouno·ver·short·en, verbpre·short·en, verb (used with object)re·short·en, verbun·der·short·en, verb (used with object)un·short·en, adjective

Synonyms for shorten

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shorten ON THESAURUS.COM

1. condense, lessen, limit, restrict. Shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail mean to make shorter or briefer. Shorten is a general word meaning to make less in extent or duration: to shorten a dress, a prisoner's sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. To abbreviate is to make shorter by omission or contraction: to abbreviate a word. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. Curtail suggests deprivation and lack of completeness because of omitting some part: to curtail an explanation. 5. contract, lessen.

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

Related Words for shorten

trim, cut, abbreviate, minimize, lessen, reduce, slash, curtail, shrink, compress, chop, clip, edit, abridge, elide, excerpt, condense, contract, snip, dock

Examples from the Web for shorten

Contemporary Examples of shorten

“In some cases, it has taken 15 days to report the deaths and circumstances, which I would like to shorten to 48 hours,” she said.
Did This Flu Vaccine Kill 13?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 2, 2014
We have to shorten the distance between inevitable and inconceivable.
Square Deal, New Deal, and Now, From Hillary Clinton, a “Fair Shot”
Eleanor Clift
September 19, 2014
Just like nobody is going to tell David O. Russell to shorten American Hustle (138 minutes).
Our Pop Culture Wish List for 2014
Kevin Fallon
December 30, 2013
A new study says living in the South will shorten your life.
Study Proves Southern States Have Lowest Life Expectancy
Eliza Shapiro
July 20, 2013
We have to overturn Citizens United and shorten the campaign season.
David Stockman on ‘The Great Deformation’ and Our Economic Doom
Daniel Gross
April 1, 2013

Historical Examples of shorten

Presently, to shorten his road, he left the park, and took to a lane outside it.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
We'll enjoy the fine weather till it's time to shorten sail.
Cy Whittaker's Place
Joseph C. Lincoln
Treachery, too, stepped in to shorten the time still further.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
I was making for Cattolica, but I missed my way in seeking to shorten it.
The Shame of Motley
Raphael Sabatini
"Perhaps I can shorten the pedigree," said Haggerstone, tartly.
The Daltons, Volume I (of II)
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for shorten

shorten

verb

to make or become short or shorter

(tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)

(tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat

gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less

Derived Formsshortener, 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

Word Origin and History for shorten

1510s, "make shorter;" 1560s, "grow shorter," from short (adj.) + -en (1); the earlier form of the verb was simply short, from Old English sceortian "to grow short, become short; run short, fail," gescyrtan "to make short."