short

adjective

\ ˈshȯrt

Definition of short

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : having little length

b : not tall or high : low

2a : not extended in time : brief a short vacation

b : not retentive a short memory

c : expeditious, quick made short work of the problem

d : seeming to pass quickly made great progress in just a few short years

3a of a speech sound : having a relatively short duration

b : being the member of a pair of similarly spelled vowel or vowel-containing sounds that is descended from a vowel that was short in duration but is no longer so and that does not necessarily have duration as its chief distinguishing feature short i in sin

c of a syllable in prosody

(1) : of relatively brief duration

(2) : unstressed

4 : limited in distance a short trip

5a : not coming up to a measure or requirement : insufficient in short supply

b : not reaching far enough the throw to first was short

c : enduring privation

d : insufficiently supplied short of cash short on brains

6a : abrupt, curt I'm sorry I was short with you

b : quickly provoked a short temper

7 : choppy sense 2

8 : payable at an early date a short loan

9a : containing or cooked with shortening also : flaky short pastry

b of metal : brittle under certain conditions

10a : not lengthy or drawn out a short speech

b : made briefer : abbreviated

11a : not having goods or property that one has sold in anticipation of a fall in prices

b : consisting of, relating to, or engaging in the sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale short sale a short seller

12 : near the end of a tour of duty

in short order

: with dispatch : quickly

short

adverb

Definition of short (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : in a curt manner

2 : for or during a brief time short-lasting

3 : at a disadvantage : unawares caught short

4 : in an abrupt manner : suddenly the car stopped short

5 : at some point or degree before a goal or limit aimed at or under consideration the bombs fell short quit a month short of graduation

6 : clean across the axle was snapped short

7 : by or as if by a short sale

short

noun

Definition of short (Entry 3 of 4)

1 : the sum and substance : upshot

2a : a short syllable

b : a short sound or signal

3 shorts plural

a : a by-product of wheat milling that includes the germ, fine bran, and some flour

b : refuse, clippings, or trimmings discarded in various manufacturing processes

4a : knee-length or less than knee-length trousers —usually used in plural

b shorts plural : short drawers

c : a size in clothing for short men

5a : one who operates on the short side of the market

b shorts plural : short-term bonds

6 shorts plural : deficiencies

7 : short circuit

8 : shortstop

9a : short subject

b : a brief story or article (as in a newspaper)

for short

: as an abbreviation named Katherine or Kate for short

in short

: by way of summary : briefly

short

verb

shorted; shorting; shorts

Definition of short (Entry 4 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : short-circuit

2 : shortchange, cheat

3 : to sell (a security) short in expectation of a fall in prices

intransitive verb

: short-circuit —often used with out in U.S. English … were sabotaging the system by deliberately entering incorrect information into the computers and, if all else failed, hosing the computers down until they shorted out.— John Sedgwick

Other Words from short Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about short

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of short in a Sentence

Adjective

One of my legs is slightly shorter than the other. He is short for his age. the shortest day of the year Life's too short to worry about the past. The movie was very short. You have done a lot in a short space of time. a short burst of speed I've only lived here for a short time. She has made great progress in a few short years. He visited for two short weeks.

Adverb

He threw the ball short. the bicyclist ahead of me unexpectedly pulled up short and I unavoidably plowed into him

Noun

The short before the main movie was very funny.

Verb

The lightning shorted the TV. The hair dryer must have shorted.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

It can also be used at shorter lengths if the situation needs it. — Timothy Dahl, Popular Mechanics, "Here's the Only Shovel You'll Ever Need," 1 Feb. 2019 It is believed that he was introduced to act as a substitute for Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis because of his short stature, and his idolizing of Harry. — Noelle Devoe, Seventeen, "33 Mind-Blowing "Harry Potter" Movie Facts That'll Make You Want to Watch Them All Over Again," 31 Jan. 2019 The good news is that there actually are plenty of ways to squeeze a solid no-equipment workout into a short amount of time. — SELF, "A 15-Minute No-Equipment Core Workout You Can Do at Home," 18 Jan. 2019 But Gwen’s decided to take a short break from loving on her country star boyfriend to tease him just a little bit. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Gwen Stefani Just Resurfaced the Ultimate Throwback Photo of Boyfriend Blake Shelton," 17 Jan. 2019 The short answer is yes, and true to form, the reveal came in the last few seconds of the episode. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "The Best 'This Is Us' Recap of Episode 10 From Season 3," 16 Jan. 2019 Most fighters carry automatic cannons in the 20 to 30mm range, mostly for short-range air-to-air combat and strafing ground targets. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Watch a AC-130 Gunship Devastate Targets on the Ground with Its Howitzer," 16 Jan. 2019 Playing Battlefield, a tank moving left to right moves in sync with the Nari Ultimate’s haptics, while every explosion or stray bullet thud gets an accompanying, shorter shake. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Razer HyperSense's vision for haptic-filled PC gaming shakes up the future of peripherals," 10 Jan. 2019 There's also some scientific research indicating that due to the short wavelengths of cooler colors and how our cones perceive them, greens and blues are the most relaxing to our eyes. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "14 Calming Paint Colors That Will Change the Way You Live," 9 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Long story short, Father Alexandre showed up as a missionary to spread the word of Christ and convert members of the Mohawk nation—which is, obviously, representative of a very problematic part of history. — Mehera Bonner, Harper's BAZAAR, "Roger Finally Redeemed Himself on Outlander," 21 Jan. 2019 The fling must have been short-lived, though, as IMDB claims Wilmer was only on the series for four episodes from 2016-2017. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Molly McCook Made a Surprise Appearance on 'The Ranch' and Everyone Missed It," 22 Dec. 2018 But the Red Planet's wet period was short-lived, lasting only a few hundreds of millions of years. — Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com, "Geometry Helps Solve the Mystery of Mars' Water," 13 July 2018 Being too short can pose problems seeing down the field or with having passes knocked down at the line. — Brian Costa, WSJ, "The Inch That Could Decide Kyler Murray’s Future," 21 Dec. 2018 And to make a long story short, our souls weren’t meant to be together. — Anonymous, Glamour, "What I Wore to Get Divorced," 29 Nov. 2018 Belgium's golden generation has come up short at a major tournament. — Mike Corder, chicagotribune.com, "Belgium's golden generation falls short again at World Cup," 10 July 2018 Their lack of neighborliness and obliviousness to their children’s impact on the well-being of others cut our trip short and ruined an otherwise good vacation. — Seattle Times Readers, The Seattle Times, "Rant & Rave: Noisy kids ruined camping trip," 24 Sep. 2018 Mané and Keïta were both teammates at RB Salzburg, although the Africain pair saw their time together cut short when the Senegalese winger moved to Southampton in 2014, having made just two appearances together in the Austrian Bundesliga. — SI.com, "Report Claims That Naby Keita Was Talked Out of Bayern Munich Switch By Liverpool Winger," 30 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Elsewhere, a certain irreverent, unexpected elegance came to the fore: take Marion Cotillard at the Chanel Spring 2019 couture show, who wore skintight bike shorts with her little black Coco jacket. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "10 Best Dressed: Week of January 28, 2019," 28 Jan. 2019 With the business humming, one question is whether RH borrowed too much to beat back the shorts. — Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, "How Furniture Retailer RH Pulled Off Its Surprising Turnaround," 7 Jan. 2019 In the two shorts that have come out since Toy Story 3 Bonnie is featured as the owner on the toys. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Everything We Know About "Toy Story 4"," 13 Nov. 2018 According to Deadline, the other two shorts will fill in the backstory of Discovery's Klepian first officer (and possibly the show's best character) Saru, as well as the exploits of another fan favorite, Sylvia Tilly. — Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, "Everything We Know So Far About 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 2," 5 Sep. 2018 The shorts might have lightened wallets, but likely did little to meaningfully reduce user's waistlines. — USA TODAY, "The biggest exercise fad the year you were born," 12 July 2018 Over the summer, she was seen rocking her distinctive throwback uniform, which generally consists of bubbly graphic T-shirts and those thigh-grazing denim short shorts, all over the streets of New York City. — Vogue, "Lourdes Leon Hits the Beach in Complete Noughties Fashion," 8 Jan. 2019 Burkhard Fritz, singing his first-ever Siegfried, looked quite the overgrown child in his striped polo shirt and grubby shorts (the apt costumes are by Marie-Jeanne Lecca). — Heidi Waleson, WSJ, "‘Siegfried’ Review: Far From Child’s Play," 6 Nov. 2018 Women wearing low cut shirts or shorts that barely covered their posteriors. — Micaela English, Town & Country, "19 Things You Should Never Wear While Traveling," 1 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Musk himself wound up in several spats with, variously, Donald Trump, media outlets, Azealia Banks, and investors who short Tesla. — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, "Elon Musk is the first influencer CEO," 21 Dec. 2018 The parties settled a couple of months later, but the producer still feels he's being shorted because of the studio's accounting practices. — Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Gilmore Girls' Producer Files New Lawsuit Over Series Profits," 15 Mar. 2018 Some may remember him as the trader who shorted drug companies after trash-talking them. — Bloomberg, latimes.com, "Martin Shkreli’s journey from pharma executive to inmate No. 87850-053," 9 Mar. 2018 Some may remember him as the trader who shorted drug companies after trash-talking them. — Jaclyn Gallucci, Fortune, "How Martin Shkreli Went From Pharma Executive to Inmate #87850-053," 8 Mar. 2018 Some may remember him as the trader who shorted drug companies after trash-talking them. — Patricia Hurtad, chicagotribune.com, "Martin Shkreli's journey from pharma exec to Inmate #87850-053," 8 Mar. 2018 Iran had fallen behind to a quite brilliant strike from Ricardo Quaresma, a goal out of keeping with a first half that was long on effort and short on real quality. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, "Spain, Portugal Emerge From World Cup Group After Influential Use of VAR," 25 June 2018 Johnson scored on Will Quillen’s RBI single to center and Millsap scored on Jorge Figueroa’s single to short. — Brian Gosset, star-telegram, "Brock's Tyler throws one-hitter vs. Clyde, Carroll baseball rallies to win Game 1 | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 24 May 2018 Dendrites can grow all the way from one side of the battery to the other, shorting it and causing all the battery's energy to be released at once. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Researchers Take First Atomic Photos of Failing Battery," 27 Oct. 2017

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

First Known Use of short

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1904, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about short

Dictionary Entries near short

Statistics for short

Last Updated

8 Feb 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for short

The first known use of short was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for short

short

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of short

(Entry 1 of 4)

: extending a small distance from one end to the other end : having little length : not long

: not great in distance

: having little height : not tall

short

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of short (Entry 2 of 4)

: to or at a point that is not as far as expected or desired : to a point not reaching what is needed for something

: in a sudden manner

: for or during a short time

short

noun

English Language Learners Definition of short (Entry 3 of 4)

: pants that end at or above the knees

: a short movie

British : a small amount of liquor that you drink quickly

short

verb

English Language Learners Definition of short (Entry 4 of 4)

: to cause (something) to have a short circuit

: to stop working because of a short circuit

See the full definition for short in the English Language Learners Dictionary

short

adjective

\ ˈshȯrt

shorter; shortest

Kids Definition of short

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : not long or tall short hair a short boy short stories

2 : not great in distance a short trip

3 : not lasting long : brief in time a short delay a short memory

4 : cut down to a brief length “Doc” is short for “doctor.”

5 : less than the usual or needed amount Fruit was in short supply. We met on short notice.

6 : having less than what is needed : not having enough I'm short of money. The team was short two players.

7 : not reaching far enough The throw was short.

8 : easily stirred up a short temper

9 : rudely brief I didn't mean to be short with you.

10 : of, relating to, or being one of the vowel sounds \ə, a, e, i, u̇\ and sometimes \ä\ and \ȯ\

short

adverb

Kids Definition of short (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : with suddenness I stopped short.

2 : to or at a point that is not as far as expected or desired He threw the ball short.

short

noun

Kids Definition of short (Entry 3 of 3)

1 shorts plural : pants that reach to or almost to the knees

2 shorts plural : short underpants

3 : something (as a movie) shorter than the usual or regular length

4 : short circuit

short

adjective

Legal Definition of short

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : treated or disposed of quickly in court the calendar for short causes

2 : having a short term short loans short leases

3a : not having goods or property that one has sold in anticipation of a fall in prices a seller who was short at the time of the sale

b : consisting of or relating to a sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale a short position — see also short sale 1 at sale

4 : not involving or providing a sufficient amount of money to cover a loan — see also short sale 2 at sale, short refinance