shortcut

1 of 2

noun

short·​cut ˈshȯrt-ˌkət 

also -ˈkət

1

: a route more direct than the one ordinarily taken

2

: a method or means of doing something more directly and quickly than and often not so thoroughly as by ordinary procedure

a shortcut to success

3

: a key or combination of keys on a computer keyboard programmed to perform a specific function when pressed

You can open any item by clicking it or by assigning it a keyboard shortcut.

—Christopher Breen

called also hot key

shortcut

2 of 2

verb

shortcut; shortcutting

transitive verb

: to shorten (a route, a procedure, etc.) by use of a shortcut

also : circumvent

intransitive verb

: to take or use a shortcut

Synonyms of shortcut

Verb

• circumvent
• bypass
• avoid
• evade

Examples of shortcut in a Sentence

Noun

Wait, I know a shortcut. Turn left here.

We took a shortcut home.

Let's take the shortcut through the woods.

I used a shortcut to calculate the total weight.

There are no shortcuts to learning another language.

Mistakes were made because too many shortcuts were taken.

Verb

are you sure there's no way to shortcut the entrance requirements?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Loaded water is not a cure for poor sleep, a replacement for meals or a shortcut to weight loss. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026

The team's clever simulations traced the journey of various types of gas, carefully avoiding the usual shortcuts in models that can often lead to fuzzy answers. —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 4 May 2026

Verb

The remote even has shortcut buttons that take you directly to streaming services. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 1 May 2026

Microsoft’s ability to get behind-the-scenes access to OpenAI’s models does help its own AI researchers shortcut development of models that only lag the best ones by a small margin. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1637, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1915, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for shortcut

• abut
• catgut
• chesnut
• chestnut
• donut
• doughnut
• groundnut
• haircut
• hindgut
• midgut
• precut
• rebut

Kids Definition

shortcut

1 of 2 noun

short·​cut ˈshȯrt-ˌkət 

-ˈkət

: a shorter, quicker, or easier way

a shortcut through the woods

a shortcut to fame

shortcut

2 of 2 verb

shortcut; shortcutting

: to take or use a shortcut