Short

/ʃɔːt/ adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb, slang

adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A short circuit.
  • Grammar: short is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: 3-d, a small blade, aback, abbreviate.
  • Useful contrasts: broad, deep, high.
  • Usage evidence: A rabbit has long ears and a short tail.

How to use "short"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "short" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "short" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "short" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "short" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "short" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "3-d" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "short", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A short circuit.

    "The circuit breaker keeps tripping because there's a short in the wiring."

  2. 2
    the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed between second and third base wordnet
  3. 3
    A short film.

    "Preceded by a Simpsons short shot in 3-D—perhaps the only thing more superfluous than a fourth Ice Age movie—Ice Age: Continental Drift finds a retinue of vaguely contemporaneous animals coping with life in the post-Pangaea age."

  4. 4
    the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed wordnet
  5. 5
    A short film.; A short-form vertical video.
Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference wordnet
  2. 7
    A short film.; A short-form vertical video.; A YouTube video that is less than one minute long.
  3. 8
    A short version of a garment in a particular size.

    "38 short suits fit me right off the rack."

  4. 9
    A shortstop.

    "Jones smashes a grounder between third and short."

  5. 10
    A short seller.

    "The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne."

  6. 11
    A short sale or short position.

    "He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months."

  7. 12
    A summary account.

    "For the short and the long is, our play is preferred."

  8. 13
    A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

    "If we compare the nearest conventional shorts and longs in English, as in ‘bit’ and ‘beat’, ‘not’ and ‘naught’, we find that the short vowels are generally wide (i, ɔ), the long narrow (i, ɔ), besides being generally diphthongic as well."

  9. 14
    An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.
  10. 15
    An automobile; especially in crack shorts (“to break into automobiles”). US, slang

    "For example, one addict would crack shorts (break and enter cars) and usually obtain just enough stolen goods to buy stuff and get off just before getting sick."

Verb
  1. 1
    To cause a short circuit in (something). transitive

    "You should short the poles of the capacitor to discharge it before you work on it."

  2. 2
    create a short circuit in wordnet
  3. 3
    To short circuit. intransitive
  4. 4
    cheat someone by not returning them enough money wordnet
  5. 5
    To provide with an amount smaller than that agreed or labeled; to shortchange. informal, transitive

    "This is the third time I've caught them shorting us."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short. transitive
  2. 7
    To shorten. obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.
  2. 2
    Of comparatively small height.

    "Nhung Ngo had the shortest legs at Site-43. She was the shortest member of staff, two inches beneath the positively elfin Delfina Ibanez, and yet Lillian found her inexplicably difficult to shake. Power-walking down the halls didn't do the trick, as it always did when Wettle-dodging, since the diminutive headshrink kept disappearing into commissaries or service corridors or even other people's offices and emerging, smiling, in front of her."

  3. 3
    Having little duration.

    "Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it’s been at least twenty minutes long."

  4. 4
    Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).

    ""Phone" is short for "telephone" and "asap" short for "as soon as possible"."

  5. 5
    that is relatively close to the batsman.
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.
  2. 7
    that falls short of the green or the hole.
  3. 8
    Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.
  4. 9
    Brittle, crumbly. (See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust, shortening, hot short, cold-short.)

    "I chose to interpret the references to butter and sugar as indicating that a short pastry was required. (Later editions suggest a biscuit-like texture.)"

  5. 10
    Abrupt, brief, pointed, curt.

    "He gave a short answer to the question."

  6. 11
    Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.

    "a short supply of provisions"

  7. 12
    Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking.

    "to be short of money"

  8. 13
    Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.

    "an account which is short of the truth"

  9. 14
    Undiluted; neat. colloquial

    "“There ain’t no drain of nothing short handy, is there?” said the Chicken, generally. “This here sluicing night is hard lines to a man as lives on his condition.” Captain Cuttle proffered a glass of rum […]"

  10. 15
    Not distant in time; near at hand. obsolete

    "Marinell was sore offended / That his departure thence should be so short."

  11. 16
    Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.

    "short position"

  12. 17
    Doubtful of, skeptical of. broadly
  13. 18
    Of money: given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination. dated

    "He pulled a cheque-book from his pocket, and drew for two hundred thousand pounds. “I'll take it short,” he said […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    marked by rude or peremptory shortness wordnet
  2. 2
    tending to crumble or break into flakes due to a large amount of shortening wordnet
  3. 3
    (primarily spatial sense) having little length or lacking in length wordnet
  4. 4
    primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration wordnet
  5. 5
    of speech sounds or syllables of relatively short duration wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    not holding securities or commodities that one sells in expectation of a fall in prices wordnet
  2. 7
    lacking foresight or scope wordnet
  3. 8
    (of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range wordnet
  4. 9
    of insufficient quantity to meet a need wordnet
  5. 10
    less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so wordnet
  6. 11
    low in stature; not tall; describing something or someone with a stature less than normal wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Abruptly, curtly, briefly. not-comparable

    "They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street."

  2. 2
    Unawares. not-comparable

    "The recent developments at work caught them short."

  3. 3
    Without achieving a goal or requirement. not-comparable

    "His speech fell short of what was expected."

  4. 4
    Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full. not-comparable
  5. 5
    With a negative ownership position. not-comparable

    "We went short most finance companies in July."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner wordnet
  2. 2
    at a disadvantage wordnet
  3. 3
    so as to interrupt wordnet
  4. 4
    at some point or distance before a goal is reached wordnet
  5. 5
    clean across wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    without possessing something at the time it is contractually sold wordnet
  2. 7
    quickly and without warning wordnet
  3. 8
    happening unexpectedly wordnet
  4. 9
    on impulse; without premeditation wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    Deficient in.

    "We are short a few men on the second shift."

  2. 2
    Having a negative position in.

    "I don’t want to be short the market going into the weekend."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

    "Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had just inserted Zack Short to pinch-hit for Akil Baddoo, the type of chess-match move Hinch is making more than ever this season."

  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States.
  3. 3
    A census-designated place in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States.

Synonyms

All synonyms
3-da small bladeabackabbreviateabbreviatedabridged

Example

"A rabbit has long ears and a short tail."

Common questions

What does "short" mean?

A short circuit.

What is a synonym for "short"?

Common synonyms include: 3-d, a small blade, aback, abbreviate, abbreviated, abridged.

How do you use "short" in a sentence?

A rabbit has long ears and a short tail.

How do you pronounce "short"?

Pronounced /ʃɔːt/.

Etymology

From Middle English schort, short, from Old English sċeort, sċort (“short”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurt, from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. Doublet of curt. Cognates Cognate with shirt, skirt, curt, Scots short, schort (“short”), French court, Dutch kort, German kurz, Old High German scurz (“short”) (whence Middle High German schurz), Old Norse skorta (“to lack”) (whence Danish skorte), Albanian shkurt (“short, brief”), Latin curtus (“shortened, incomplete”) and Proto-Slavic *kortъkъ. Doublet of curt. More at shirt.

More for "short"

Synonyms

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