short story

noun

: an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot

Synonyms of short story

• tale
• story
• novella
• narrative

Examples of short story in a Sentence

her very first short story was accepted for publication in a local journal

Recent Examples on the Web

Bowing at least year’s Toronto, a home-run from Isabel Coixet, Adapting a short story collection by Italy’s Michela Murgia, who died of cancer at 51. — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026

The original lyrical idea for this came from me reading Damon Runyon books, short stories based in the ‘30s and ‘40s. — Craig Rosen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

The title story from her short story collection, Waiting for the Long Night Moon, won the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026

The film adapts authors Matt Query and Harrison Query’s 2022 book Old Country, which was based on Matt Query’s short story that went viral after first appearing on Reddit. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for short story

• aurore
• forbore
• outlawry
• pylori
• savoury
• signori
• signory
• vainglory
• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory

Kids Definition

short story

noun

: a short work of fiction usually dealing with a few characters and a single event