shorthand

noun

short·hand | \ ˈshȯrt-ˌhand

Definition of shorthand

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

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Examples of shorthand in a Sentence

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Yet even in Spider-Verse — a genuinely wonderful and magical movie — Miles’s presence in a magnet school is an easy shorthand for a talented kid from a working-class background pulling himself up by his bootstraps. — Emily Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Spider-Man: Far From Home turns a class-conscious hero into a tech bro," 3 July 2019 The video clip went viral, giving Hickenlooper’s candidacy a shorthand, or the possibility of one: the Democrat willing to make the case against socialism. — Benjamin Wallace-wells, The New Yorker, "John Hickenlooper’s War on Socialism," 1 July 2019 Surviving is shorthand for doing other jobs to pay the bills and take care of the myriad obligations of daily life. — Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit artists get 'life-changing' $25k grants through Kresge Arts," 19 June 2019 Our concept of Middle Eastern food in the area is often shorthand for Lebanese cuisine, but Anani wants to expand our palates. — Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, "Our restaurant critic's 12 favorite metro Detroit dishes from the first half of 2019," 28 June 2019 But there are also some issues that could dampen the rollout that’s just starting. 5G is shorthand for the fifth-generation model networks. — Larry Magid, The Mercury News, "Magid: 5G brings opportunities but also risks," 27 June 2019 Those once-niche ingredients for health nuts—non-dairy milks, kale, and avocados—have come to form a sort of gustatory shorthand for The Good Life, thanks to Instagram. — Sean Santiago, Vogue, "A New Kind of Breakfast Club Is Creating Community Over Gourmet Eggs and Toast," 19 June 2018 Like initials carved in a tree, ER = EPR, as the new idea is known, is a shorthand that joins two ideas proposed by Einstein in 1935. — Quanta Magazine, "Wormholes Untangle a Black Hole Paradox," 24 Apr. 2015 In one neighborhood in San Salvador, MS-13 allegedly banned DC shoes because the letters could be interpreted as shorthand for dieciocho, eighteen. — Daniel Castro, Harper's magazine, "The Truce," 10 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shorthand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.