shorten
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
short·en
(shôr′tn)v. short·ened, short·en·ing, short·ens
v.tr.
1. To make short or shorter.
2. To reduce in force, efficacy, or intensity.
3. To add shortening to (dough) so as to make flaky.
4. Nautical To take in (a sail, sails, or part of a sail) so that less canvas is exposed to the wind, thereby reducing speed: shortened sail in advance of the storm.
v.intr.
To become short or shorter.
short′en·er n.
Synonyms: shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail, truncate
These verbs mean to reduce something in length, duration, or extent: shortened his life by smoking; abbreviated the speech for the television news show; abridged the book as an essay; curtailed their visit by a week; truncated the conversation by saying goodbye.
These verbs mean to reduce something in length, duration, or extent: shortened his life by smoking; abbreviated the speech for the television news show; abridged the book as an essay; curtailed their visit by a week; truncated the conversation by saying goodbye.
Antonym: lengthen
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
shorten
(ˈʃɔːtən)vb
1. to make or become short or shorter
2. (Nautical Terms) (tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)
3. (Cookery) (tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat
4. (Gambling, except Cards) gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less
ˈshortener n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
short•en
(ˈʃɔr tn)v.t.
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.
v.i. 4. to become short or shorter.
5. (of odds) to decrease.
[1425–75]
short′en•er, n.
syn: 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; to shorten a prison sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. abbreviate usu. means to shorten a word or group of words, as by omission of letters: to abbreviate a name. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. curtail suggests a lack of completeness due to the omission of some part: to curtail an explanation.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
shorten
Past participle: shortened
Gerund: shortening
| Imperative |
|---|
| shorten |
| shorten |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | shorten - make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration; "He shortened his trip due to illness" foreshorten - shorten lines in a drawing so as to create an illusion of depth curtail, cut short, clip - terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent; "My speech was cut short"; "Personal freedom is curtailed in many countries" syncopate - omit a sound or letter in a word; "syncopate a word" cut short, truncate - make shorter as if by cutting off; "truncate a word"; "Erosion has truncated the ridges of the mountains" cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" lengthen - make longer; "Lengthen this skirt, please" |
| 2. |  shorten - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"bowdlerise, bowdlerize, expurgate, castrate, shorten - edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel" | |
| 3. | shorten - make short or shorter; "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the rope by a few inches" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" cut - shorten as if by severing the edges or ends of; "cut my hair" | |
| 4. | shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten" decrease, diminish, lessen, fall - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" lengthen - become long or longer; "In Spring, the days lengthen" | |
| 5. | shorten - edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel" abbreviate, abridge, foreshorten, shorten, contract, reduce, cut - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
shorten
verb
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
shorten
verbTo make short or shorter the duration or extent of:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُقَصِّر
zkrátit
forkorte
megrövidít
stytta
krajšatikrajšati seskrajšati
kısal mak
shorten
[ˈʃɔːtn]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
shorten
[ˈʃɔːrtən] vt
[+ dress, skirt, trousers] → raccourcir
[+ book, text, programme] → raccourcir, abréger
[+ name, word] → abréger
vi [days, nights] → raccourcir
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
shorten
vt
vi (evenings, days) → kürzer werden; (odds) → sich verringern
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
short
(ʃoːt) adjective1. not long. You look nice with your hair short; Do you think my dress is too short?
2. not tall; smaller than usual. a short man.
3. not lasting long; brief. a short film; in a very short time; I've a very short memory for details.
4. not as much as it should be. When I checked my change, I found it was 20 cents short.
5. (with of) not having enough (money etc). Most of us are short of money these days.
6. (of pastry) made so that it is crisp and crumbles easily.
adverb1. suddenly; abruptly. He stopped short when he saw me.
2. not as far as intended. The shot fell short.
ˈshortness nounˈshortage (-tidʒ) noun
a lack; the state of not having enough. a shortage of water.
ˈshorten verb to make or become shorter. The dress is too long – we'll have to shorten it.
ˈshortening noun (especially American) the fat used for making pastry.
ˈshortly adverb soon. He will be here shortly; Shortly after that, the police arrived.
shorts noun plural short trousers for men or women.
ˈshortbread noun a kind of crisp, crumbling biscuit.
ˌshort-ˈchange verb to cheat (a buyer) by giving him too little change.
short circuit the missing out by an electric current of a part of an electrical circuit (verb ˌshort-ˈcircuit) ˈshortcoming noun
a fault.
ˈshortcut noun a quicker way between two places. I'm in a hurry – I'll take a shortcut across the field.
ˈshorthand noun a method of writing rapidly, using strokes, dots etc to represent sounds.
ˌshort-ˈhanded adjective having fewer workers than are necessary or usual.
ˈshort-list noun a list of candidates selected from the total number of applicants for a job etc.
verb to put on a short-list. We've short-listed three of the twenty applicants.
ˌshort-ˈlived (-ˈlivd) , ((American) -ˈlaivd) adjective living or lasting only for a short time. short-lived insects; short-lived enthusiasm.
ˌshort-ˈrange adjective1. not reaching a long distance. short-range missiles.
2. not covering a long time. a short-range weather forecast.
ˌshort-ˈsighted adjective seeing clearly only things that are near. I don't recognize people at a distance because I'm short-sighted.
ˌshort-ˈsightedly adverbˌshort-ˈsightedness noun
ˌshort-ˈtempered adjective
easily made angry. My husband is very short-tempered in the mornings.
ˌshort-ˈterm adjective1. concerned only with the near future. short-term plans.
2. lasting only a short time. a short-term loan.
by a short head by a very small amount. to win by a short head.
for short as an abbreviation. His name is Victor, but we call him Vic for short.
go short to cause oneself not to have enough of something. Save this carton for tomorrow, or else we'll go short (of milk).
in short in a few words.
in short supply not available in sufficient quantity. Fresh vegetables are in short supply.
make short work of to dispose of very quickly. The children made short work of the ice-cream.
run short1. (of a supply) to become insufficient. Our money is running short.
2. (with of) not to have enough. We're running short of money.
short and sweetHis reply was short and sweet: `Get out!' he shouted.
short for an abbreviation of. `Phone' is short for `telephone'; What is `Ltd.' short for?
short of not as far as or as much as. Our total came to just short of $1,000; We stopped five miles short of London.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
shorten
v. acortar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012