shorthand
Americannoun
-
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.
adjective
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using or able to use shorthand.
-
written in shorthand.
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of or relating to shorthand.
noun
Etymology
Origin of shorthand
Explanation
Shorthand is a way of writing quickly, using a lot of abbreviations. Reporters often use shorthand during interviews to keep up with how fast people talk. It can be hard to write as fast as people speak, and that's where shorthand comes in. Shorthand is a method of rapidly transcribing exactly what someone says using special symbols, the way a court stenographer or a newspaper reporter does. It's less common to use shorthand these days, with the availability of recording devices, but in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was standard in offices.
Vocabulary lists containing shorthand
When You Reach Me
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My Life with the Chimpanzees
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The Boy Who Dared
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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.
That its kitchen and its design unite so many seemingly ununitable elements is part of the magic, an abundant shorthand for America itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The shorthand used to describe Milton Keynes often refers to concrete cows and its many roundabouts.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
In modern lingo, plague is shorthand for something really awful: “I caught the plague last weekend!,”
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
The “slop bowl” became internet shorthand for the familiar fast-casual mash-up — grains, greens, globally inspired protein, sauce, perhaps an avocado surcharge — assembled with the logic of a cafeteria line and an over-$10 price.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
He stayed outside on the steps of the school while my mother went inside to learn typing and shorthand.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
