Nearby Words

shortened

[shawr-tn] Origin

short·en

[shawr-tn]
verb (used with object)
1.
to make short or shorter.
2.
to reduce, decrease, take in, etc.: to shorten sail.
3.
to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat.
4.
Sports. choke (def. 8).
verb (used without object)
5.
to become short or shorter.
6.
(of odds) to decrease.

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Shortened is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

Origin:
1505–15; short + -en1

short·en·er, noun
o·ver·short·en, verb
pre·short·en, verb (used with object)
re·short·en, verb
un·der·short·en, verb (used with object)
EXPAND
un·short·en, adjective
COLLAPSE


1. condense, lessen, limit, restrict. Shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail mean to make shorter or briefer. Shorten is a general word meaning to make less in extent or duration: to shorten a dress, a prisoner's sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. To abbreviate is to make shorter by omission or contraction: to abbreviate a word. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. Curtail suggests deprivation and lack of completeness because of omitting some part: to curtail an explanation. 5. contract, lessen.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

shorten
1510s, from short (adj.); the earlier form of the verb was simply short, from O.E. sceortian "to grow short," gescyrtan "to make short."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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