# short

Pronunciation: US say "SHORT" /ʃoɹt/; say "SHAWT" UK /ʃɔːt/, AUS /ʃoːt/

## Adjective

1. Having only a small distance from one end or edge to another, whether measured across or up and down.
   - Simple: Measuring only a small distance from one end to the other.
   - _She returned the new curtains because they were too short for the window._
   - _A short stretch of road connected the two villages._
2. Lasting only a brief period of time.
   - Simple: Lasting only a small amount of time.
   - _After a short delay, the train left the station._
   - _The lecture felt short compared with the usual two-hour session._
3. Of relatively small height compared with others.
   - Simple: Not tall, measuring little from top to bottom.
   - _He is short for a basketball player._
   - _A short stool let her sit close to the ground._
4. Of a text, list, or form, containing only a small number of words, pages, or entries.
   - Simple: Of something written, like a list or a form, with not many words, pages, or items.
   - _The application form is only two pages, much shorter than last year's version._
   - _She published a short novel of barely a hundred pages that became a surprise bestseller._
7. Of a word or phrase, being an abbreviation or shortened form of another.
   - Simple: Being a shorter way to say or write a longer word.
   - _The label 'sci-fi' is short for 'science fiction.'_
   - _He goes by Theo, short for Theodore._
8. Not enough to meet a need or standard; also, of a person, not having enough of something, especially money.
   - Simple: Not enough, or not having enough of something you need, such as money or time.
   - _Supplies ran short before the relief trucks arrived._
   - _With time short, the team rushed to finish._
11. Abrupt and curt in manner, often suggesting irritation.
   - Simple: Speaking in a quick, slightly rude or unfriendly way.
   - _The manager was short with the staff all morning._
   - _A short, clipped reply ended the conversation._
20. Holding an investment position structured to profit if the underlying security's price falls.
   - Simple: In a money position that earns more when a price goes down instead of up.
   - _The fund is short on oil futures heading into winter._
   - _She stayed short on the index until the market bottomed out._
22. Brittle and crumbly in texture, breaking apart easily rather than stretching or holding together.
   - Simple: Easily broken into crumbs, the way certain pastries fall apart.
   - _A good shortbread should be short, dissolving into crumbs on the tongue._
   - _The high fat content keeps the pastry short and flaky._
26. Of an alcoholic drink, taken neat, with no water or mixer added. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Of a drink, made without water or anything added to it.
   - _He's not a fan of long drinks full of ice and soda, so he sticks to short ones like a straight whiskey._
   - _After dinner, the guests moved from wine to short drinks, a splash of brandy or whiskey with nothing added._
27. In cricket, of a delivery, pitched to land a comparatively long way in front of the batter.
   - Simple: In cricket, of a ball, bowled so that it bounces a long way before it reaches the batter.
   - _Fast bowlers use the short delivery to push batters back onto their heels._
   - _The ball was a little short, and the captain pulled it away for four._
28. Describing a vowel or syllable that takes relatively little time to say, or one with the sound English has traditionally called short rather than long.
   - Simple: Describes a vowel or syllable said quickly, or one with the sound English calls short, the opposite of long.
   - _In Latin verse, a short syllable takes about half the time of a long one._
   - _Adding a silent e at the end usually turns a short vowel into a long one, as in hop and hope._

## Preposition

5. Lacking the needed quantity of; not having enough of.
   - Simple: Not having enough of something that is needed.
   - _By closing time the register was short forty dollars._
   - _We were short two eggs, so I ran next door to borrow some._
25. Holding a negative or bearish position in the named security, profiting when its price declines.
   - Simple: Holding a position that gains when the named thing's price falls.
   - _The desk has been short bonds since rates began climbing._
   - _She went short euros ahead of the central bank's decision._

## Adverb

6. In a manner that fails to reach a goal, standard, or requirement.
   - Simple: In a way that does not reach a goal or amount.
   - _The fundraiser fell short of its goal by a wide margin._
   - _The proposal came up short in the final vote._
15. In an abrupt or sudden manner.
   - Simple: In a sudden, quick way.
   - _He stopped short, startled by the sudden noise._
   - _The speaker was cut short by loud applause._
24. In a manner involving a negative ownership position, so that a falling price yields a profit.
   - Simple: In a way that profits when a price goes down rather than up.
   - _Convinced that the housing market would crash, she sold short and profited when prices fell._
   - _Funds that trade short can profit even in a falling market._

## Noun

9. A film of brief running time, much shorter than a feature-length movie.
   - Simple: A movie that is much shorter than a full-length movie.
   - _The director's latest short premiered to warm reviews._
   - _Animated shorts often run before feature films in theaters._
10. A concise summary giving the essential points without the full detail.
   - Simple: A quick summary that gives only the main points.
   - _I won't bore you with every detail; the short of it is that sales fell for the third quarter in a row._
   - _After an hour of back-and-forth, the long and the short of it was that nobody wanted to move the deadline._
12. A very brief vertical video, usually no more than a few minutes long, made for phones and shared on social media such as YouTube Shorts.
   - Simple: A very short video made to watch on a phone, like on YouTube or TikTok.
   - _He shot the short vertically on his phone, added captions, and posted it before lunch._
   - _Brands now pay creators to make shorts promoting their products._
14. An accidental connection that lets electric current bypass its proper path, usually causing a fault.
   - Simple: A fault in which electricity flows along the wrong path, often causing damage.
   - _A short in the old wiring tripped the breaker._
   - _Investigators blamed the fire on a short behind the wall._
18. A speech sound, syllable, or vowel having brief duration, contrasted with its long counterpart.
   - Simple: A speech sound or vowel said quickly, taking only a brief moment.
   - _In Greek and Latin verse, a dactyl is made of one long syllable followed by two shorts._
   - _When she scanned the line, she marked every short with a breve, which made its quick, light rhythm easy to see._
19. A market position, or the sale creating it, that profits when the price of the underlying security falls.
   - Simple: A deal where someone sells a borrowed thing, hoping its price drops so they earn money.
   - _The investor placed a short against the overvalued retailer._
   - _Rising prices forced traders to close their shorts at a loss._
21. The infielder positioned between second and third base, responsible for much of the infield's defensive range.
   - Simple: The player who stands between second and third base in baseball.
   - _With the bases loaded, the batter sent a sharp grounder to short, and the throw home beat the runner by a step._
   - _He was moved to short after years at second base._
23. An investor who sells borrowed securities in the expectation of profiting from a price decline.
   - Simple: A person who sells borrowed shares, hoping the price will drop so they make money.
   - _The short who exposed the fraud became famous on Wall Street._
   - _Several shorts piled into the stock after the accounting scandal broke._
29. A drink of spirits or other strong liquor served in a small measure, unlike a long drink such as beer. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: A small amount of a strong alcoholic drink, such as whiskey, rather than a bigger drink like beer.
   - _We were on pints all evening, but he switched to shorts after ten o'clock._
   - _Fancy a quick short before last orders, or are you sticking with beer?_

## Verb

13. To make or develop a short circuit, so that electric current takes an unintended path of low resistance.
   - Simple: To make electricity flow the wrong way in a wire or machine, or to have this fault.
   - _A loose strand of wire can short the control board._
   - _The technician shorted the capacitor to discharge it safely._
16. To provide someone with a smaller amount than was agreed on or labeled. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To give someone less than the amount they were promised.
   - _Vendors who short their buyers quickly lose business._
   - _The clerk shorted her by two dollars at the register._
17. To sell securities one does not own, for delivery later, hoping to profit when the price declines.
   - Simple: To sell shares you don't own yet, hoping to buy them back cheaper later.
   - _Hedge funds short companies they believe are overvalued._
   - _She shorted the tech firm just before its earnings collapsed._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Doubtful about something and skeptical of whether it can be believed or trusted.
- (adjective) In cricket, of a fielding position, placed near the batter.
- (adjective) Of a golf shot, stopping before reaching its target on the course.
- (adjective) Of betting odds, paying back little because the outcome is likely.
- (adjective) Coming soon, not far off in time.
- (adjective) Of cash, handed over in large bills so that the count of bills is small.
- (adverb) By surprise, without warning.
- (adverb) In cricket, so as to land well away from the batter and bounce higher than usual.
- (noun) A garment made in a reduced length for its size, for people who are not tall.
- (noun) In programming, an integer type with a narrower range than a standard int, usually 16 bits.
- (noun) A car, a slang use found mainly in the phrase 'crack shorts,' meaning to break into vehicles.
- (verb) To reduce the length of something.

## Origin

From Middle English schort, from Old English sċeort ("short"), going back through Proto-Germanic *skurtaz to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. It is a doublet of curt and is related to shirt, skirt, German kurz, and Latin curtus ("shortened, incomplete").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/short (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).