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short

short

8 6.8
Made for a brief time, not held long
  • adjective
  • /ʃɔrt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : 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
587 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
225 4.9

A vowel sound that lasts more than a short vowel

Idioms

115 2.8

To give only the main facts

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

For a short time without thinking about long-term effects

18 3.4

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

With very little time to prepare

Very quickly without delay

short and sweet
  • Informal
12 4.0

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

11 3.3

Not having enough time to do what you need

8 7.1

To get a worse or unfair result than others

on a short leash
  • Informal
7 7.7

Kept under strict control with little freedom

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

A person who is not very smart or sensible

9.9

To keep someone tightly controlled so they have little choice

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

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

To stop wasting time being unhappy and enjoy life

To call someone not smart to insult them

A person who is a little foolish or not very smart

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

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

Not long enough to reach what is needed

Feeling tired and weak

short on looks
  • Informal
6.7

Not attractive to look at

Compounds

short story
  • Literature
105 2.3

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

38 3.7

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

27 4.1

Lasting for a short time, not long-term

short-term memory
  • Specialized
22 3.9

The ability to remember things for a short time

14 3.8

Working only over a small distance

short leash
  • Informal
12 5.7

Close control of someone that allows them little freedom

11 2.7

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

short sale
  • Specialized
8 5.6

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

7 1.0

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

There are too few workers to do the work well

short circuit
  • Specialized
5 4.2

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

5 1.0

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

5 3.4

A request for a quick simple meal in a diner

4 1.3

Having short hair, usually about people or animals

3 4.1

Getting angry or losing patience very quickly

3 3.9

Meals that cooks make and serve quickly in places like diners

3 1.8

A pair of light brown shorts for casual outdoor wear

3 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

2 6.5

A short film shown before the main movie in a cinema

2 3.5

A small pile of pancakes or other food for one person

short sale
  • Specialized
1 7.8

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

short wave
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A radio wave that travels long distances and carries international broadcasts

short iron
  • Jargon
1 7.2

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

1 6.9

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

short covering
  • Specialized
1 8.1

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

1 5.5

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

short line
  • Jargon
1 6.0

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

short loin
  • Specialized
1 7.6

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

1 7.2

A person who is leaving their job or service soon

short ton
  • Specialized
1 4.1

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

short vowel
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A vowel sound that you say for a short time

A job that lasts only a few weeks or months

short-term liability
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A debt that must be paid within one year

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

chuck short ribs
  • Specialized
5.0

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

A medium to large hunting dog with short hair from Germany

short bone
  • Specialized
6.0

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

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 account
  • Specialized
8.8

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

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

An animal with a short beak

A bird with a short beak

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

Having shorter ears than others of the same kind

3.8

Near its expiry date and likely to go bad soon

short-fetched
  • Archaic
8.9

Hard to believe because it lacks good proof

short-leaf pine
  • Specialized
7.4

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

5.5

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

An animal or object that has a short, blunt nose

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

short-stemmed
  • Specialized
3.8

With a short stem, like some plants or flowers

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

short-stalked
  • Specialized
6.0

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

short-staple cotton
  • Specialized
6.5

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

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

Breathing is difficult and you get out of breath after activity

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

How Long

long
  • Specialized
225 4.9
prolonged
69 3.9
short
  • Specialized
8 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.