as in abbreviation
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as in reducing
to make less in extent or duration
we decided to shorten the distance we had to walk home by cutting across the neighbor's lawn if Grandma has to go shopping today, you'll need to shorten your visit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shortening
Julia Ries Wexler, Health, 15 Apr. 2026
Another major product was its shortening brand Crisco.
—Alexander Coolidge, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 8 May 2026
But nobody pretends academics matter for college football players in 2026, and shortening the lull could maintain momentum and move the National Championship up a few weeks.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortening
Noun
This movement engages the quad concentrically, which means the muscles contract while shortening, Mann said.
—Julia Ries Wexler, Health, 15 Apr. 2026
Another major product was its shortening brand Crisco.
—Alexander Coolidge, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
Part of that vision includes increasing how often NASA launches Artemis' Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — with the goal of shortening the gap between missions from a few years to about 10 months.
—Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 8 May 2026
But nobody pretends academics matter for college football players in 2026, and shortening the lull could maintain momentum and move the National Championship up a few weeks.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shortening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortening
Noun
-
This is the page in the racing program full of numbers, abbreviations and lines that looks intimidating at first.—
Neil Greenberg,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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Another downside is that many acronyms are not unique, so the same abbreviation can mean different things, even within a single field, said Kragh.—
Clarissa Brincat,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Eco effort The Pig group’s 25-mile menu keeps suppliers local, reducing food miles and packaging in the process.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Its document generation tools guide founders through complex legal processes step by step, reducing errors and ensuring completeness.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
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India is already rationing LNG supplies, according to a note S&P Global Energy shared with CNBC, which said power generation, refining, and petrochemicals are lower-priority sectors and therefore more exposed to curtailments.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2026
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In exchange for the curtailment of some freedoms, the people submit to an authority, thereby gaining protection and security.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But by the time Forrest reaches age 10, when dogs become eligible for Loyal’s pill, those defenses will more often misfire and fail to stop not just cancer but also other life-abbreviating ailments.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
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Edo also followed Prince William and Kate Middleton's lead with the sweet sign off for his latest social post by abbreviating the children's first names with their initials to send an online message.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Space Force has inked contracts with emerging space companies—non-traditional primes, in military contracting parlance—to buy services, manufacture satellites and payloads, and launch rockets.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2026
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Tribal businesses now face a vastly more competitive landscape, and virtually no opportunities for those new to the contracting game, James said.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The longtime illusion of a mainstream industry involved truncating both ends of the bell curve, the radical and the mercenary.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This raises the risk of a multiple contraction back toward the historical average of 21x.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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The optimization approach focused on creating an asymmetric motion pattern similar to natural jellyfish, where the contraction phase is faster than recovery.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Verb
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In an interview about his 2022 book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates said that curtailing consumption to eliminate carbon emissions is of limited value.—
John Reid,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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In a country that bills itself as a beacon of free speech, educational institutions especially should not be curtailing it.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shortening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortening. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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