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short

short

3 6.8
Made for a brief time, not held long
  • adjective
  • /ʃɔrt/
  • Specialized
: breve
  • Can you tell me the long and short sounds of the letter O?
  • short vowel
  • long and short
  • short syllable

Can you tell me the long and short sounds of the letter O?

Examples

  • Just read the speeches, make it a short, very simple speech.

  • And I'm going to play a short extract from that debate.

  • The piano played a few short notes when they pressed the ancient, yellowing keys.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • People learn better when multimedia presentations are divided into short bursts as opposed to longer modules.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The vowel sound in 'cat' is short, whereas the sound in 'father' is long.

  • In music, a short note is typically played for a quick duration.

  • During the lesson, we practiced saying short and long syllables clearly.

Synonyms

brief
vsshort
534 2.0

Using few words or lasting only a short time

applies to duration of a sound or syllable in pronunciation
shortish
vsshort
1 3.1

A little less long than usual in length or time

refers specifically to pronunciation duration of a syllable rather than general length

Antonyms

long
  • Specialized
21 4.9

A vowel sound that lasts more than a short vowel

Idioms

131 2.8

To give only the main facts

With very little time to prepare

To say that something is exactly as said to show strong feeling

30 3.4

Shows people use a shorter name or phrase instead of the full one

For a short time without thinking about long-term effects

Very quickly without delay

short and sweet
  • Informal
13 4.0

Quick and pleasant without extra detail, often about a talk or message

on a short leash
  • Informal
11 7.7

Kept under strict control with little freedom

10 3.3

Not having enough time to do what you need

8 7.1

To get a worse or unfair result than others

6 6.2

To be chosen by chance to do an unpleasant task

short shrift
  • Informal
6 8.4

Little attention paid to something that shows it is not taken seriously

3 9.9

To keep someone tightly controlled so they have little choice

To call someone not smart to insult them

A person who is not very smart or sensible

Feeling tired and weak

To tell someone to go away in a rude, angry way

The final careful stage of a task when you do the small details

Not long enough to reach what is needed

To end up by chance with an unpleasant task or in a worse position

To stop wasting time being unhappy and enjoy life

A person who is a little foolish or not very smart

9.9

A little bit crazy and not thinking clearly

Not very sensible or aware of simple things

A sudden end that causes death or total ruin

short on looks
  • Informal
6.7

Not attractive to look at

Compounds

short story
  • Literature
63 2.3

A short piece of writing that focuses on one event or idea

47 3.7

A list of chosen people from a larger group for final selection

30 4.1

Lasting for a short time, not long-term

24 3.8

Working only over a small distance

short-term memory
  • Specialized
23 3.9

The ability to remember things for a short time

short circuit
  • Specialized
18 4.2

An accidental electrical connection that lets electricity flow the wrong way and can cause damage or fire

short leash
  • Informal
15 5.7

Close control of someone that allows them little freedom

14 1.0

A sleeve that goes from the shoulder to just above the elbow

short sale
  • Specialized
14 5.6

Selling a house for less than the amount owed on the mortgage with the bank's agreement

11 2.7

A cut of beef from the ribs near the breastbone often cooked slowly

9 1.0

Trousers ending above the knee that people wear in warm weather or for sports

9 4.1

Getting angry or losing patience very quickly

There are too few workers to do the work well

8 3.9

Meals that cooks make and serve quickly in places like diners

8 3.4

A request for a quick simple meal in a diner

7 1.3

Having short hair, usually about people or animals

5 3.5

A small pile of pancakes or other food for one person

short wave
  • Specialized
4 4.9

A radio wave that travels long distances and carries international broadcasts

4 8.1

A small school bus that carries students who need extra help

short selling
  • Specialized
3 6.6

Selling shares you do not own to buy them back later at a lower price to make a profit

3 1.8

A pair of light brown shorts for casual outdoor wear

3 7.2

A person who is leaving their job or service soon

short sale
  • Specialized
3 7.8

Selling shares you do not own to buy them back later at a lower price

2 6.5

A short film shown before the main movie in a cinema

A job that lasts only a few weeks or months

short vowel
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A vowel sound that you say for a short time

short iron
  • Jargon
1 7.2

A golf club with a short shaft and angled face used for high, short shots

short covering
  • Specialized
1 8.1

To buy back shares you sold expecting their price to fall to close that position

short-stemmed
  • Specialized
1 3.8

With a short stem, like some plants or flowers

An animal with a nose shorter than others of the same kind

short-term liability
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A debt that must be paid within one year

short ton
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A unit of weight used in the United States equal to 2,000 pounds, about 907 kilograms

1 7.1

Breathing is difficult and you get out of breath after activity

1 5.2

An animal or object that has a short, blunt nose

A medium to large hunting dog with short hair from Germany

1 6.8

Having shorter ears than others of the same kind

1 5.5

A quick way to divide numbers in your head with little writing

short loin
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A section of beef behind the ribs used to make porterhouse and T-bone steaks

1 6.9

Grass that stays short and survives with little rain on dry open plains

short line
  • Jargon
1 6.0

A small private train route that connects local towns to main railway lines

short bone
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A bone about as long as it is wide and thick, found in the wrist and ankle

short-leaf pine
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A large pine tree with short needles that grows in the southern United States

1 3.8

Near its expiry date and likely to go bad soon

short-stalked
  • Specialized
1 6.0

Having a short stem that keeps leaves or flowers close to the ground

A large bird of prey with short toes that often hunts snakes

short account
  • Specialized
1 8.8

An account with a broker that lets you sell stocks you do not own to buy back for less

1 5.8

A bird with a short beak

chuck short ribs
  • Specialized
1 5.0

A piece of beef from near the shoulder with short bones and meat for slow cooking

1 5.7

An animal with a short beak

short-staple cotton
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A kind of cotton with short fibers that people use to make coarse cloth

A small North American animal with a tail less than half its body length

castling short
  • Specialized
8.6

In chess, moving the king two squares toward the kingside rook and placing that rook next to the king

chaddi short
  • Indian
9.9

Light shorts for swimming or playing, often worn by children in South Asia

short castle
  • Jargon
7.5

To move the king two squares toward its rook and put that rook beside the king

7.6

A chess move where the king moves two squares toward the kingside rook and that rook moves beside the king

short gastric artery
  • Specialized
5.3

A small blood vessel that carries blood from the artery near the spleen to the outer curve of the stomach

short hundredweight
  • Specialized
9.1

An American measure of weight equal to 100 pounds, about 45 kilograms

A vein that carries blood from the foot up the back of the leg to the knee

short whist
  • Archaic
9.9

A card game for four people in two teams where you win points by taking tricks, played to five points

A small North American bird with a short bill that lives in wet meadows

short-fetched
  • Archaic
8.9

Hard to believe because it lacks good proof

5.5

A grasshopper with antennae shorter than its body that often eats plants and can damage crops

short-stop bath
  • Specialized
9.6

An acidic liquid that stops film or paper from developing before fixing

short-stop
  • Specialized
9.9

A liquid used after developing film to stop the chemical reaction

short-spurred
  • Specialized
9.5

Having a small tube at the base of the petals

A wild flower like the fragrant orchid with smaller flowers, shorter stems, and very short spurs

How Long

long
  • Specialized
21 4.9
prolonged
80 3.9
short
  • Specialized
3 6.8

Surface Forms

short positive
shorter comparative
shortest superlative

Etymology

Short for a vowel sound means 'brief' in time, so a short vowel is pronounced for a quick, short moment rather than a long one.