shorthand
- a method of rapid handwriting using simple strokes, abbreviations, or symbols that designate letters, words, or phrases (distinguished from longhand).
- a simplified or makeshift manner or system of communication: We spoke in a kind of pidgin shorthand to overcome the language barrier.
- using or able to use shorthand.
- written in shorthand.
- of or relating to shorthand.
Origin of shorthand
Related Words for shorthand
print, handwriting, script, calligraphy, transcription, chirography, hand, scrawl, scribble, autograph, cuneiform, shorthand, hieroglyphics, longhand, correspondence, notes, record, copy, stenography, phonographyExamples from the Web for shorthand
Contemporary Examples of shorthand
She said Wright, whom the girl refers to as the shorthand “J,” also sensed that the heat was on.
In doing these interviews and talking about her these past seasons, have you developed a shorthand for describing her personality?
That serves as shorthand for Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche.
Throw in the period setting and “like Mad Men during WWII” shorthand becomes inevitable.
The shorthand for that New York was once “the bad old days.”
Weren’t Those the Bad Old Days? The Poison of New York City NostalgiaMichael Moynihan
January 6, 2014
Historical Examples of shorthand
Closely looked at, all novel-writing is a sort of shorthand.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume IIMrs. Humphry Ward
He could read in my face that I was guilty, and he demanded my shorthand note-book.
The CreviceWilliam John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
But you don't suppose I took notes in shorthand of what we said to each other, do you?
BarringtonCharles James Lever
Instead of going into logarithms, Henry went into shorthand.
A Great ManArnold Bennett
The youth was serious, industrious, and trustworthy, and in shorthand incomparable.
A Great ManArnold Bennett
shorthand
- a system of rapid handwriting employing simple strokes and other symbols to represent words or phrases
- (as modifier)a shorthand typist