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
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Recent Examples of short
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2026
Shops and dining downtown are a short drive.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 26 Jan. 2026
Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 20 Jan. 2026
Eventually, the buying power runs out, the bulls are tapped, profit-taking and short-selling bears take over.
—Todd Gordon, CNBC, 20 Jan. 2026
Keith Laing, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Burry is taking his angst even further and betting against AI , recently shorting such leading stocks as Nvidia and Palantir Technologies .
—Yun Li, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2025
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Filmed over seven years, this documentary short is a deeply personal East-meets-West story of mutual healing.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Adjective
The show will now be about 90 minutes, including intermission, shorter than the traditional revues.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2026
Shops and dining downtown are a short drive.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 26 Jan. 2026
Adverb
Mizzou fell short in some of the things that Gates has harped on.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 20 Jan. 2026
Eventually, the buying power runs out, the bulls are tapped, profit-taking and short-selling bears take over.
—Todd Gordon, CNBC, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
Tesla recalled certain 2024-2025 Model 3, Model S, 2023-2025 Model X, and Model Y vehicles because the cars had computer circuit boards that may short, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image, according to documents released online by NHTSA.
—Keith Laing, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Burry is taking his angst even further and betting against AI , recently shorting such leading stocks as Nvidia and Palantir Technologies .
—Yun Li, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2025
Noun
After going for it on fourth-and-short successfully with a direct snap to Hall on a fake punt, the Jets proceeded to … run out the clock with runs, short passes, and by not snapping the ball on fourth down.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Filmed over seven years, this documentary short is a deeply personal East-meets-West story of mutual healing.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short
Adjective
-
Sunday dawned sunny and clear with blue skies and little wind, allowing the climb to go ahead.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Carbon nanotube yarns are light yet lift little.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The incident caused brief traffic delays and drew a crowd of onlookers, but mall officials said other stores resumed normal operations after emergency crews gave the all-clear.—
CBS News Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
In April, Blue Origin faced public backlash after flying an all-female celebrity crew — including Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, and Gayle King — on a brief, 11-minute trip to the edge of space.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Nothing undermines success like a lack of stability, and of course, a lacking quarterback.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
9 Jan. 2026
-
These are all signs of a lacking musclespan, whereas not noticing any difficulties in everyday tasks suggests a stronger trajectory.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Few things feel like more of a sartorial fumble than visible panty lines under a crisp pair of tailored work pants.—
Abby Morgan Lebet,
InStyle,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, each room is awash in a crisp white color scheme and comes with a private plunge pool.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
If Congress wants to help consumers stuck in high-interest debt, there are far more effective tools than blunt caps.—
J.D. Hayworth,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
-
When response capacity erodes, governments resort to blunt tools — border closures, trade disruptions, emergency spending — that fuel inflation, political backlash, and instability.—
Sylvana Quader Sinha,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
When the building abruptly closed this spring, with tenants initially given just 48 hours to vacate, Hartquist hopped across the skyway to the Town Square building.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Tommy travels to Louisiana for a launch party marking the start of M-Tex’s offshore drilling project — but the celebration quickly unravels when Cami (Demi Moore) abruptly cuts ties with him.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In any case, makers of non-AI systems could potentially be squeezed into this definition, so all software and systems developers should be mindful of whether their automation could fall into this zone.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The loss of those supplies — and the hard currency Havana earned by reselling part of them — has further squeezed an already fragile economy.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Brenda Looper joined the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as a news clerk in April 1997, and worked as a feature writer, reviewer and copy editor on the news side before moving to the opinion section in July 2011.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Together, these features make the Advanced Driving Simulation Center a powerful tool.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Short.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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