INDEX:
short/not long
1. short in length or distance
2. when something you say or write is short
3. to make something shorter
4. when a book or piece of writing has been made shorter
5. to say or write something using as few words as possible
6. when a name or word is a shorter way of saying something
short person
7. not tall
8. very short
short time
9. a short time
10. continuing for only a short time
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ LONG
to make a short statement that describes the main points of a speech, plan etc : ↑ SUMMARIZE
see also
↑ DISTANCE
◆◆◆
1. short in length or distance
▷ short /ʃɔːʳt/ [adjective]
if something is short, there is only a small length or distance from one end of it to the other :
▪ These curtains are much too short.
▪ She has short curly hair and wears glasses.
▪ a short-sleeved T-shirt
▪ You look different - your hair’s shorter.
▪ The hotel is just a short distance from the station.
▪ Chris went for a short walk to clear his head.
short cut
a shorter, and therefore quicker, way of getting to a place
▪ Sandy took a short cut home.
▪ Do you know any short cuts to the hospital?
▷ stubby/stumpy /ˈstʌbi, ˈstʌmpi/ [adjective]
body parts that are stubby or stumpy are short and thick :
▪ Pheasants have short stubby wings which enable them to fly very fast and low.
▪ a fat little boy with stumpy legs
2. when something you say or write is short
▷ short /ʃɔːʳt/ [adjective]
a short piece of writing or speech does not have many pages or words :
▪ Graham made a short speech of thanks after the ceremony.
▪ a book of short stories
▪ The chapters are really short, so I read a couple every night.
▪ We had a short pep talk from the coach before the game.
▪ Please write a short paragraph explaining your reasons for applying to this college.
▷ brief /briːf/ [adjective]
a brief note, description, remark etc uses very few words and gives very few details :
▪ The book begins with a brief outline of the history of modern China.
▪ We just have to write a very brief piece on what we did in the vacation.
▪ There was a brief note with the flowers.
▷ concise /kənˈsaɪs/ [adjective]
short and clear, and with no unnecessary words :
▪ Saussure expressed his arguments in a concise and logical way.
▪ Sergeant Hanks gave us concise, sensible instructions.
clear and concise
▪ Make sure that your answers are as clear and concise as possible.
▷ succinct /səkˈsɪŋkt/ [adjective] formal
expressing something well but with very few words :
▪ The new labelling is more succinct and advises consumers simply that oat bran may help prevent heart disease.
succinctly [adverb]
▪ Spell out your work objectives clearly and succinctly.
say/put something succinctly
say something in a succinct way
▪ As Susan put it so succinctly ‘No overtime pay, no work!’
3. to make something shorter
▷ shorten /ˈʃɔːʳtn/ [transitive verb]
to make something shorter, especially by removing part of it :
▪ I heard she had an operation to shorten her nose.
▪ You can improve your writing just by shortening some of these long sentences.
▪ It costs £12 to get trousers shortened.
▪ This essay’s still too long, I’ll have to shorten it by a couple of thousand words.
shorten something to something
▪ His name’s Lawrence, but it’s usually shortened to Larry.
▷ make something shorter /ˌmeɪk something ˈʃɔːʳtəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to make something shorter, especially by removing part of it :
▪ You could make your speech shorter by taking out all the quotations.
make something one metre/two centimetres etc shorter
▪ Engineers have removed a section of the pipeline, making it about a hundred metres shorter.
▷ cut /kʌt/ [transitive verb]
to make a film or piece of writing shorter by removing parts from it :
▪ Even after it had been cut, the film was still over three hours long.
▪ I had to cut huge chunks out to get this essay to the right length.
cut something from something
▪ It’s so difficult to cut even a couple of scenes from a play without losing some of the story.
▷ cut down /ˌkʌt ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make a piece of writing shorter by removing parts of it completely :
cut something down
▪ The introduction’s too long. Can you try and cut it down?
▪ Did you have to cut your dissertation down?
cut down something
▪ They want me to cut down my article so that it’ll all fit onto one page.
▷ condense /kənˈdens/ [transitive verb]
to shorten something spoken or written, by not giving as much detail, or by using fewer words to give the same information :
▪ I’d like to condense that statement still further.
condense something into something
▪ Hawkins condensed all his writings into one volume for publication.
▪ How could he condense all he had lived through into a sixty-minute speech?
4. when a book or piece of writing has been made shorter
▷ shortened /ˈʃɔːʳtnd/ [adjective]
shortened version (of something)
▪ This chapter is a shortened version of a paper that was written in 1977.
▪ a shortened version of the Jewish creed
in (a) shortened form
▪ The book contains many of the most popular stories from the Bible in shortened form.
▷ abridged /əˈbrɪdʒd/ [adjective]
abridged version/edition/account (of something)
a shortened version of a piece of writing or speech, which keeps its basic structure and meaning :
▪ The following article is an abridged version of a speech given by Porter in May 2000.
▪ The book is an abridged account of his experiences in India before Independence.
5. to say or write something using as few words as possible
▷ be brief /biː ˈbriːf/ [verb phrase]
to say something using as few words as possible, because you do not have much time :
▪ Lieutenant, I’ll be brief and I’ll be candid -- when do you plan to leave?
▪ I’m sure you’re all very busy, so I’ll be brief.
▪ I’ll be as brief as possible so as not to waste your time.
▷ keep it short /ˌkiːp ɪt ˈʃɔːʳt/ [verb phrase] informal
to say or write something using as few words as possible :
▪ I’ll keep it short as I don’t have much time.
▪ Tell me, but keep it short, I’m in the middle of something.
keep it short and sweet/short and simple
▪ Mr Chairman, I think I’ve got five minutes, so I’ll keep it fairly short and sweet.
6. when a name or word is a shorter way of saying something
▷ be short for /biː ˈʃɔːʳt fɔːʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ VHF is short for Very High Frequency.
▪ ‘Is ‘Shelley’ short for anything?’ ‘Yes, my real name’s Michelle.’
▪ What’s ‘ISP’ short for?
▷ stand for /ˈstænd fɔːʳ/ [transitive phrasal verb]
if a letter stands for a name or word, it is the first letter of that name or word :
▪ ‘What does ‘NAC’ stand for?’ ‘National Aerobics Championships’.
▪ On a US ship, you see ‘USS’, standing for ‘United States Ship’.
▪ The ‘F’ in ‘John F Kennedy’ stood for ‘Fitzgerald’.
▷ for short /fəʳ ˈʃɔːʳt/ [adverb]
if you call someone or something a particular name for short, you call them by a name that is a shorter way of saying their real name :
▪ Hi, my name’s Moses -- Mo for short.
▪ He’s actually called Jeremy, but everyone who knows him calls him Jem for short.
▷ abbreviate /əˈbriːvieɪt/ [transitive verb usually in passive]
to make a long name or word shorter so that it is easier to say or write :
▪ Is it correct to abbreviate ‘Avenue’, ‘Street’ and so on when writing an address on an envelope?
be abbreviated to something
▪ The word ‘kilogram' is usually abbreviated to ’kg'.
▷ abbreviation /əˌbriːviˈeɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a shorter way of saying a word or the name of something such as an organization or someone’s job, especially by using the first letters of words instead of the whole words :
▪ Disk Operating Systems are usually known by the abbreviation DOS.
▪ a Dictionary of Acronyms and Abbreviations
▪ I never knew the abbreviation ‘GI’ stood for ‘Government Issue’.
abbreviation for
▪ BBC is an abbreviation for British Broadcasting Corporation.
7. not tall
▷ short /ʃɔːʳt/ [adjective]
not as tall as most people :
▪ ‘What does she look like?’ ‘She’s short and fat, with brown hair.’
▪ a short, stocky man with powerful shoulders
▪ Mr Haddad was several inches shorter than his wife.
▷ not very tall /nɒt veri ˈtɔːl/ [adjective phrase]
fairly short :
▪ She’s not very tall - about 1.4 metres, I’d say.
▪ Well, I’m not very tall and my legs are short, so I always had trouble in the hurdle race.
▷ small /smɔːl/ [adjective]
not as big or as tall as most people :
▪ a small man in a dark suit
▪ How come I always seem to go out with small men?
▪ My sister’s quite a bit smaller and slimmer than me.
small for his/her age
smaller than other children of the same age
▪ Bobby’s small for his age, but he’s perfectly healthy.
▷ little /ˈlɪtl/ [adjective only before noun]
short and small, used especially to describe children or old people :
▪ We saw a little old lady with a walking-stick.
▪ Who’s this little boy in the blue sweater?
▪ I haven’t seen one of those since I was a little girl.
▷ petite /pəˈtiːt/ [adjective]
a woman who is petite is attractively short and thin :
▪ His wife was a petite dark-haired woman in her early thirties.
▷ stocky /ˈstɒkiǁˈstɑː-/ [adjective]
a man who is stocky is fairly short and looks heavy and often strong :
▪ Brandon’s quite stocky really, isn’t he?
▪ He’s a big stocky bloke and he plays rugby.
▷ squat /skwɒtǁskwɑːt/ [adjective]
short and fat, especially in an unattractive way :
▪ The cook was short and squat, with thick eyebrows and a slight moustache.
▪ a shabby, squat, balding man in an old raincoat
8. very short
▷ tiny /ˈtaɪni/ [adjective]
▪ A tiny old lady answered the door.
▪ She’s tiny, but she belts out these old blues songs like you wouldn’t believe.
▪ They look so funny together. She’s really tiny and her husband’s about six foot five.
tiny little
informal
▪ She was holding a tiny little baby in her arms.
▷ diminutive /dɪˈmɪnjɑtɪv, dəˈmɪnjɑtɪv/ [adjective] written
unusually small and thin :
▪ Peter was a shy, diminutive man who seldom said anything to anyone.
▪ A diminutive figure appeared in the doorway.
9. a short time
▷ a short time /ə ˌʃɔːʳt ˈtaɪm/ [singular noun]
▪ Unfortunately, we could only spend a short time together.
▪ The talk should only last a short time.
in/within a short time
▪ How did you manage to do all this in such a short time?
▪ The police arrived within a very short time.
a short time ago
▪ Your friends left a short time ago.
for a short time
▪ I think he went to prison for a short time.
▷ a little while/a short while /ə ˌlɪtl ˈwaɪl, ə ˌʃɔːʳt ˈwaɪl/ [singular noun]
a short period of time, during or after which something happens :
▪ It always takes a little while to get used to the climate.
for a short/little while
▪ Bob’s only worked here for a short while, about six months I think.
a little while/a short while ago
▪ He died a little while ago.
▪ She was in the papers a short while ago.
after/in a little/short while
▪ If you take the pills now, your headache will go after a short while.
▪ Don’t start that now, it’ll be time to go in a little while.
▷ a minute/a moment /ə ˈmɪnə̇t, ə ˈməʊmənt/ [singular noun]
a very short time, no more than a few minutes :
▪ Just a moment Susie, can I have a quick word with you?
▪ Can I borrow your pen a minute?
▪ Wait a minute, I’m nearly ready.
a minute/moment ago
▪ Where’s Charles gone? He was here a moment ago.
for/in a minute/moment
▪ Sit down for a minute and rest your legs.
▪ Mark should be back in a moment.
▪ I’ll be with you in a minute.
▷ a second/an instant /ə ˈsekənd, ən ˈɪnstənt/ [singular noun]
an extremely short time, no more than a few seconds :
▪ Do you mind switching the telly on a second?
▪ An instant later, she let out a piercing scream.
▪ ‘Yes,’ she declared, without an instant’s hesitation.
▪ ‘Have you finished writing?’ ‘No, hang on a second.’
for a second/an instant
▪ Can I stop you there, just for a second?
▪ Just hold that end for a second while I fix this to the wall.
▪ Did her eyes flicker open for an instant?
in a second/an instant
▪ Mr Smart’s on the other line, can he call you back in a second?
▪ We both fell asleep in an instant.
▷ a bit /ə ˈbɪt/ [singular noun] British spoken
a short time, usually just a few minutes :
▪ I waited, and a bit later the phone went again -- it was Bill.
▪ Oh, wait a bit, can’t you?
after/for/in a bit
▪ I think I’ll lie down for a bit.
▪ ‘Are you coming?’ ‘Yes, in a bit.’
▪ After a bit, Bill had started to tire of her company.
10. continuing for only a short time
▷ short /ʃɔːʳt/ [adjective]
continuing for only a short time :
▪ The meeting was shorter than I’d expected.
▪ the shortest day of the year
▪ a short course in aromatherapy
▪ It would have been better if they’d closed the road for a short period of time while the repairs were done.
▷ quick /kwɪk/ [adjective only before noun]
a quick action takes only a very short time, because you are in a hurry :
▪ I took a quick look at the map.
▪ Do I have time for a quick shower before we go out?
▪ She’s going to give me a quick lesson on Feng Shui this afternoon.
▪ Can I ask just one quick question?
▷ brief /briːf/ [adjective]
a brief pause, visit etc is short, especially because there is not much time available :
▪ It was impossible to see everything during our brief visit to Paris.
▪ After a brief intermission, the performance continued.
▷ not take long /nɒt teɪk ˈlɒŋǁ-ˈlɔːŋ/ [verb phrase]
if something does not take long, you do it and finish it in a short time :
▪ Let me show you how to use the program -- it won’t take long.
not take long to do
▪ We’ll have the chicken drumsticks - they won’t take long to thaw.
it doesn’t take (somebody) long to do something
▪ It didn’t take long to solve the problem.
▪ It sure didn’t take you long to smell the food!
▷ temporary /ˈtemp ə rəri, -p ə riǁ-pəreri/ [adjective]
something that is temporary is expected to continue for only a short time and will not be permanent :
▪ The doctor says the swelling is just temporary and should go down in a few days.
▪ a temporary driver’s license
▪ They’re living in temporary accommodation at the moment.
temporary workers/staff/job etc
▪ Demand for temporary workers continues to rise.
▪ Ben’s found a temporary job until November.
temporarily [adverb]
for a limited period of time :
▪ The library is temporarily closed for repairs.
▷ short-lived /ˌʃɔːʳt ˈlɪvd◂/ [adjective]
something that is short-lived ends sooner than you want it to - use this especially about a feeling or relationship :
▪ They had a passionate but short-lived affair.
▪ We were glad to be home, but our happiness was short-lived.
▪ However, the President’s popularity may prove to be short-lived.
▷ passing /ˈpɑːsɪŋǁˈpæ-/ [adjective only before noun]
passing thought/interest/fashion/phase etc
one that continues for a short time and then quickly disappears :
▪ At the time, I didn’t give Alison so much as a passing thought -- I had other things on my mind.
▪ Most people take only a passing interest in their horoscope.
▪ Whether this is just a passing fad or a lasting fashion trend, only time will tell.
▷ ephemeral /ɪˈfem ə rəl/ [adjective] formal
continuing for only a short time - used especially in literature :
▪ No dictionary can really capture something as fleeting and ephemeral as slang.
▪ Hopes of political unity in the region have proved ephemeral.