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definitions

shorten

[ shawr-tn ]
/ ˈʃɔr 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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. shortcake,
  2. shortchange,
  3. shortcoming,
  4. shortcrust pastry,
  5. shortcut,
  6. shortened form,
  7. shortening,
  8. shorter,
  9. shorter catechism,
  10. shortfall

Origin of shorten

First recorded in 1505–15; short + -en1
SYNONYMS FOR shorten
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.
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Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shorten

British Dictionary definitions for shorten

shorten

/ (ˈʃɔːtən) /

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

shorten

v.

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."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper