(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
If you ~ an event or the length of time that something lasts, or if it ~s, it does not last as long as it would otherwise do or as it used to do.
Smoking can ~ your life...
When the days ~ in winter some people suffer depression.
? lengthen
VERB: V n, V
2.
If you ~ an object or if it ~s, it becomes smaller in length.
Her father paid ?1,000 for an operation to ~ her nose...
As they ~, cells become more prone to disease and death.
? lengthen
VERB: V n, V
3.
If you ~ a name or other word, you change it by removing some of the letters.
Originally called Lili, she eventually ~ed her name to Lee.
VERB: V n
4.
to ~ the odds: see odds