short ‧ hand /ˈʃɔːthænd $ ˈʃɔːrt-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
1 . a fast method of writing using special signs or shorter forms to represent letters, words, and phrases
in shorthand
The reporter took notes in shorthand.
a secretary who takes shorthand (=writes in shorthand)
⇨ ↑ longhand
2 . a shorter but less clear way of saying something
shorthand for
He’s been ‘relocated’, which is shorthand for ‘given a worse job a long way away’.