Skip to main content
for short

for short

18 3.4
Shows people use a shorter name or phrase instead of the full one
  • idiom
translation icon : para abreviar
  • My friends call me Kelly for short.

It's called Modern Monetary Theory, MMT for short.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • What was more, the ExtraEarth Foundation—Ex-Earth for short—was prepared to subsidize any would-be colonists.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • My friends call me Kelly for short.

  • Can I call you Dick for short?

  • "Advanced Idea Mechanics" or AIM for short, you get it?

  • We call it Sissy for short.

  • But you can call me "Corny," for short.

  • I'm Jolene Bennett, Jo for short.

  • The name of my charity is food allergy & anaphylaxis network, Faan for short.

  • MIT's first massively open online course, or MOOC for short, was called Circuits and Electronics.

    Blog text (9)
  • You can call me Richard for short.

Synonyms

also known as
vsfor short
8 1.5

To give another name for a person or thing

is used to show a shorter or simpler name instead of the full one
a.k.a.
vsfor short
4.2

To show another name for a person or thing

is used to show a shorter or simpler name instead of the full one

Surface Forms

for short positive
for a short positive

Morphology

for + short

The phrase 'for short' is directly interpretable from 'for' (indicating purpose or in place of) + 'short' (a shorter form); it signals that a shorter version of a name or phrase is being used. This compositional pattern is common and predictable cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

For short comes from the simple idea of using a short or 'shorter form' of a name or phrase instead of the long one. So when someone says 'for short' they are telling you to use the brief name or version.