Nearby Words
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adjective
1.
having little length; not long.
2.
having little height; not tall: a short man.
3.
extending or reaching only a little way: a short path.
4.
brief in duration; not extensive in time: a short wait.
5.
EXPANDbrief or concise, as writing.
6.
rudely brief; abrupt; hurting: short behavior.
7.
low in amount; scanty: short rations.
8.
not reaching a point, mark, target, or the like; not long enough or far enough.
9.
below the standard in extent, quantity, duration, etc.: short measure.
10.
having a scanty or insufficient amount of (often followed by in or on): He was short in experience.
11.
being below a necessary or desired level; lacking: The office is short due to winter colds and flu.
12.
Cookery.
a.
(of pastry and the like) crisp and flaky; breaking or crumbling readily from being made with a large proportion of butter or other shortening.
b.
(of dough) containing a relatively large amount of shortening.
13.
(of metals) deficient in tenacity; friable; brittle.
14.
(of the head or skull) of less than ordinary length from front to back.
15.
Stock Exchange.
a.
not possessing at the time of sale commodities or stocks that one sells.
b.
noting or pertaining to a sale of commodities or stocks that the seller does not possess, depending for profit on a decline in prices.
16.
Phonetics.
a.
lasting a relatively short time: “Bit” has a shorter vowel-sound than “bid” or “bead.”
b.
belonging to a class of sounds considered as usually shorter in duration than another class, as the vowel of but as compared to that of bought, and in many languages serving as a distinctive feature of phonemes, as the a in German Bann in contrast with the ah in Bahn, or the t in Italian fato in contrast with the tt in fatto (opposed to long).
c.
having the sound of the English vowels in bat, bet, bit, hot, but, and put, historically descended from vowels that were short in duration.
17.
Prosody.
a.
(of a syllable in quantitative verse) lasting a relatively shorter time than a long syllable.
b.
18.
(of an alcoholic drink) small: a short drink.
19.
Chiefly British. (of whiskey) undiluted; straight.
20.
Ceramics. (of clay) not plastic enough to be modeled.
21.
COLLAPSERopemaking. hard (def. 39).
adverb
22.
abruptly or suddenly: to stop short.
23.
briefly; curtly.
24.
on the near side of an intended or particular point: The arrow landed short.
25.
Baseball.
a.
with the hands higher on the handle of the bat than usual: He held the bat short and flied out.
b.
in a fielding position closer to home plate than usual.
noun
26.
something that is short.
27.
that which is deficient or lacking.
28.
the sum and substance of a matter; gist (usually preceded by the).
29.
shorts,
a.
trousers, knee-length or shorter.
b.
short pants worn by men as an undergarment.
c.
knee breeches, formerly worn by men.
d.
Finance. short-term bonds.
e.
Mining. crushed ore failing to pass through a given screen, thus being of a larger given size than a specific grade. Compare fine1 (def. 28a).
f.
remnants, discards, or refuse of various cutting and manufacturing processes.
30.
EXPANDa size of garment for men who are shorter than average: He wears a 42 short.
31.
a garment, as a suit or overcoat, in such a size.
32.
Military. a shot that strikes or bursts short of the target.
33.
Electricity. short circuit.
34.
Prosody. a short sound or syllable.
35.
Baseball. shortstop (def. 1).
36.
Movies. short subject.
37.
Finance. short seller.
38.
a deficiency or the amount of a deficiency.
39.
COLLAPSEChiefly British. a small drink of straight whiskey; shot.
verb (used with object)
40.
to cause a short circuit in.
41.
to cheat by giving less than is expected or deserved; shortchange.
verb (used without object)
Idioms42.
to short-circuit.
43.
come/fall short,
a.
to fail to reach a particular standard.
b.
to prove insufficient; be lacking: Her funds fell short, and she had to wire home for help.
44.
cut short, to end abruptly; terminate: Her nap was cut short by a loud noise from outside.
45.
46.
in short,
a.
in summary.
b.
in few words; in brief: In short, this has been rather a disappointing day.
47.
EXPANDmake short work of. work (def. 52).
48.
run short, to be in insufficient supply: My patience is running short.
49.
sell short,
a.
Stock Exchange. to sell stocks or the like without having them in one's actual possession at the time of the sale.
b.
to disparage or underestimate: Don't sell Tom short; he's really an excellent engineer.
50.
short and sweet,
a.
pleasantly brief.
b.
pertinent: We're in a hurry, so make it short and sweet.
51.
short for, being a shorter form of; abbreviated to: “Phone” is short for “telephone.”
52.
COLLAPSEshort of,
a.
less than; inferior to.
b.
inadequately supplied with (money, food, etc.).
c.
without going to the length of; failing of; excluding: Short of murder, there is nothing he wouldn't have tried to get what he wanted.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English schort (adj.), Old English sceort; cognate with Old High German scurz short, Old Norse skortr shortness, scarcity
before 900; Middle English schort (adj.), Old English sceort; cognate with Old High German scurz short, Old Norse skortr shortness, scarcity
Related forms
short·ness, noun
o·ver·short, adjective
o·ver·short·ness, noun
un·short, adjective
Synonyms
4. Short, brief are opposed to long, and indicate slight extent or duration. Short may imply duration but is also applied to physical distance and certain purely spatial relations: a short journey. Brief refers especially to duration of time: brief intervals. 5. terse, succinct, laconic, condensed. 6. curt, sharp, testy. 7. poor, deficient, inadequate, wanting, lacking. 12. crumbly. 14. brachycephalic.
4. Short, brief are opposed to long, and indicate slight extent or duration. Short may imply duration but is also applied to physical distance and certain purely spatial relations: a short journey. Brief refers especially to duration of time: brief intervals. 5. terse, succinct, laconic, condensed. 6. curt, sharp, testy. 7. poor, deficient, inadequate, wanting, lacking. 12. crumbly. 14. brachycephalic.
Antonyms
3, 4. long.
3, 4. long.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
short
Meaning "electrical short circuit" first recorded 1854 (the verbal phrase short circuit is recorded from 1867). Slang meaning "car" is attested from 1897; originally "street car," so called based on street cars (or the rides taken in them) being "shorter" than railroad cars.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
short definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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