the short term

noun

: a short period of time at the beginning of something

It will meet our needs, at least for the short term.

His plan has advantages over the short term.

—usually used in the phrase in the short term

It won't make any difference in the short term.

These changes may improve profits in the short term, but they are going to cost us money in the long term.

Examples of the short term in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After all, establishing a city on Mars will be extremely expensive, with little financial return in the short term — not exactly the mission profile that most investors are keen to support. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025

And while settlement can hurt your credit in the short term, the impact is typically less severe and shorter-lasting than bankruptcy. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025

The problem is that faster-than-sound aircraft aren't cheap and there's only so much investor money that a company can scratch up at any one time, so Plan B for Boom is to adapt its aircraft technology to make some earthbound lolly in the short term. —New Atlas, 10 Dec. 2025

Export controls help in the short term while doing little in the long term. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 9 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for the short term

• disaffirm
• ectoderm
• endoderm
• endosperm
• interfirm
• isotherm
• mesoderm
• periderm
• reaffirm
• affirm
• bookworm
• confirm