1
as in little
having relatively little height
a lot of boys are shorter than the girls in middle school, but they quickly catch up by high school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brief
not lasting for a considerable time
fortunately for those of us in the hot sun, the graduation speech was short and to the point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
regrettably, the art supplies are short this year, so you'll have to share
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in crisp
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure
short pastry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in blunt
being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner
I didn't mean to be so short with you by responding to your request with a snippy "I'm busy!"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in abruptly
with great suddenness
the bicyclist ahead of me unexpectedly pulled up short and I unavoidably plowed into him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to squeeze
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
charged that the used-car dealer had been shorting customers for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in feature
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of short
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
This decadent casserole's short ingredient list and simple assembly make this dish perfect for busy nights.
—Phoebe Evans, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2026
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2026
Iwamasa injected Perry with the short-acting anesthetic.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
Stanton demonstrates his battery by shorting the coils, which halts the pendulum due to the magnetic field’s braking effect.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
As Salim, Bakri avoids the kind of short-temperedness that incorrectly defines Arab men in the public imagination.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for short
Adjective
Kept alive numerous times by the activating Jonathan Aspirot and Jordan Harris, the puck eventually came around to Kastelic low on the left side and Kastelic got his 10th of the year by beating Greaves on a bad-angle short-side shot.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
This decadent casserole's short ingredient list and simple assembly make this dish perfect for busy nights.
—Phoebe Evans, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2026
Adverb
Continual pulling can rid your lawn of Japanese stiltgrass after three or four years; mowing the grass short also helps keep it under control.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2026
Iwamasa injected Perry with the short-acting anesthetic.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Verb
Either way, the potential for a shakeout is prompting some to short the market, the Wall Street Journal’s Gregory Zuckerman wrote this week.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026
Stanton demonstrates his battery by shorting the coils, which halts the pendulum due to the magnetic field’s braking effect.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
The Canucks, who entered the game 58 points behind the Avalanche, scored in all sorts of ways, including 29 seconds into the game, short-handed, on the power play and into an empty net to snap a six-game slide.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
As Salim, Bakri avoids the kind of short-temperedness that incorrectly defines Arab men in the public imagination.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for short
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short
Adjective
-
Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact, with the two sides blaming each other for violations.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Start by trimming the tough, dry ends off the bunch and chop them into little logs.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
After a brief pursuit, the teen ran away.—
Ash-har Quraishi,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
That the timing, however brief, was exact.—
Stephanie Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But the upper frequencies are still slightly lacking.—
Mark Knapp,
PC Magazine,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Loro Parque, a zoo on the island of Tenerife, offers a clean and safe environment, expert care and proper mental and social stimulation that Wikie and Keijo are desperately lacking.—
Valerie Greene,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Add the buckwheat groats and toast, shaking and tossing often and adjusting heat as needed, until crisp and light golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes.—
Kelly McCarthy,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Crisp and Polished Linen ensembles can be saviors on warm days, and Quince has several crisp options to add to your workwear rotation this season.—
Tanya Sharma,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
He was pronounced dead from blunt force trauma to the head.—
Mark Prussin,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
An autopsy found that Reyes died of blunt force trauma to her head, neck, torso and left lower extremity, the warrant affidavit said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Two tankers carrying liquid petroleum gas (LPG) that were heading out of the Persian Gulf have abruptly turned round amidst Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship tracking data.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Following the climactic portrayal of bombings in Iran and Gaza, the Strokes’ video montage ended with a shot of a bomber plane in the air, as the song abruptly ended.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Focusing on everyday shapewear, Yummie hugs instead of squeezes like traditional shapewear that can be extremely tight and constrictive.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
All movies need a 45-day exclusive theatrical window, because small and mid-budget movies that hit streaming sooner are getting squeezed.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Gemini in Chrome is rolling out a new feature called Skills to save and reuse your favorite prompts.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Directed by Joshua Bailey in his feature directorial debut, the 74-minute documentary follows the history of urban exploration around Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and the people who break into closed or closing attractions around the park to document the infrastructure.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Short.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
