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

Sergio is at work on a short story collection centered around the Mexican diaspora. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026

In the end, sources say Netflix paid $1 million for the short story. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Drama Understudy, based on author Nicholas Binge‘s short story, has been set up at the streamer for development with Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Steven Yeun executive producing. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026

The film was produced by Olga Chajdas, Stanisław Dziedzic, Katarzyna Ozga, Nicolas Steil and Samantha Taylor, and adapted from the short story by Tokarczuk. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 3 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