shorthand

noun

short·​hand ˈshȯrt-ˌhand 

1

: a method of writing rapidly by substituting characters, abbreviations, or symbols for letters, sounds, words, or phrases : stenography

2

: something likened to shorthand especially in providing rapid or abbreviated communication or representation

Stereotype and cliché serve a purpose as a form of shorthand.

—Stephanie Ericsson

headline shorthand

shorthand adjective

Examples of shorthand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s shorthand for Pass Breakup, and Nacua executed that beautifully on a soft, high pass from Matthew Stafford that sailed over Nacua’s head and into the hands of leaping Panthers safety Nick Scott, who was falling back into the end zone. —Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026

Commentators and politicians have been using the term as shorthand for removing Maduro and ending Venezuela’s crisis, as if the two were essentially the same thing. —Andrew Latham, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026

What the photographs of Maduro suggest is not the disappearance of power’s visual language, but its entanglement with symbols that operate as cultural shorthand. —Debbie Millman, Time, 7 Jan. 2026

His fund sold all of its Magnificent Seven — investor shorthand for Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia — holdings. —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1636, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shorthand

• in shorthand
• shorthand reporter
• shorthand typist
• take shorthand

Rhymes for shorthand

• armband
• backhand
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand

Kids Definition

shorthand

noun

short·​hand ˈshȯrt-ˌhand 

1

: a method of rapid writing by using symbols for sounds, words, or phrases

2

: a short or quick way of showing or saying something

shorthand adjective