shorten
Americanverb (used with object)
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shortens,
present (3rd person singular)
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shortened,
past participle, past
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shortening
present participle
verb
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to make or become short or shorter
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(tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)
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(tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat
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gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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shortenernoun
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overshortenverb
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reshortenverb
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preshortenverb (used with object)
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undershortenverb (used with object)
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unshortenadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shortensimple
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shortenssimple
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have shortenedperfect
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has shortenedperfect
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am shorteningprogressive
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are shorteningprogressive
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is shorteningprogressive
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have been shorteningperfect progressive
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has been shorteningperfect progressive
Past
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shortenedsimple
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had shortenedperfect
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was shorteningprogressive
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were shorteningprogressive
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had been shorteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shorten
Vocabulary lists containing shorten
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.
See Examples For:
For Albano, Trent Park is "on a par in terms of the military intelligence that was gained and... was used by the British government to shorten the length of the Second World War".
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Previous research showed that EPS8 accumulates as worms grow older and activates damaging stress responses that shorten their lifespan.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
It can shorten the duration and severity of illness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Last year, California’s Great America, a Silicon Valley park operated by Six Flags Entertainment, had to cut its workforce and shorten its season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
She’d not been able to shorten the fourteen-year term.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
That window shortens to one hour if air conditioning fails during summer heat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
This not only creates more room for components but also shortens wiring distances, reducing parasitic capacitance and significantly increasing communication bandwidth between different parts of a chip.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
That means they will be hoping to come to an agreement with Red Bull that shortens that timeframe.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
The urgency has grown as his career runway shortens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
Going downhill, she shortens her step, keeps centered, not leaning forward.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Whether in its original eight-mile guise, or the shortened 4.3-mile version used since 1983, it has a combination of flowing, high and medium-speed corners matched by very few circuits in the world.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
This interview has been shortened and edited for clarity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday to end the holiday shortened week after June hiring data came in well below expectations and prompted investors to dial back bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
These are naturally less sensitive to tiny defects on the crystal's surface, which had shortened magnon lifetimes in previous experiments.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
I’m already wearing the sweatpants Mom shortened on the right side.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Analysts at investment banks connected to listing companies can now publish research alongside company prospectuses, shortening the IPO process by seven days, the Financial Conduct Authority said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Later studies by Wagner's group and other scientists showed that this shortening occurs across many types of cancer and may help tumors adapt, survive, and escape treatment.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Friday’s stock-market action might have made for a shortening of memories.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
The company is focusing on managing direct costs and shortening the time it takes to build, CEO Robert McGibney said on a call with investors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
“But aren’t you shortening her life by giving her so much?”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
