short
(noun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition)
adjective
1. primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
- a short life
- a short flight
- a short holiday
Similar word(s): abbreviated, shortened, truncated, brief, clipped, fleeting, fugitive, momentaneous, momentary
2. (primarily spatial sense) having little length or lacking in length
- short skirts
- short hair
- the board was a foot short
Similar word(s): abbreviated, brief, close, curtal, shortened, shortish, snub, stubby, telescoped, truncate, truncated
3. low in stature; not tall
- he was short and stocky
- short in stature
- a short smokestack
Similar word(s): low, chunky, dumpy, squat, squatty, stumpy, compact, heavyset, stocky, thick, thickset, runty, squab, squabby, little
4. of insufficient quantity to meet a need
- money is short
- on short rations
- food is in short supply
Similar word(s): deficient, insufficient, inadequate, jejune, poor
5. (of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range
- a short memory
Similar word(s): forgetful, mindless, unmindful, forgetful, unretentive
6. not holding securities or commodities that one sells in expectation of a fall in prices
- a short sale
- short in cotton
7. of speech sounds or syllables of relatively short duration
- the English vowel sounds in `pat', `pet', `pit', `pot', putt' are short
8. less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
- regularly gives short weight
Similar word(s): deficient, insufficient, light, scant
9. lacking foresight or scope
- a short view of the problem
- shortsighted policies
- shortsighted critics derided the plan
Similar word(s): improvident, myopic, shortsighted, unforesightful
10. tending to crumble or break into flakes due to a large amount of shortening
- shortbread is a short crumbly cookie
- a short flaky pie crust
Similar word(s): breakable
11. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
- the salesgirl was very short with him
Similar word(s): discourteous, brusk, brusque, curt
Sentences with short as an adjective:
- Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it's been at least twenty minutes long.
- “Phone” is short for “telephone” and "asap" short for "as soon as possible".
- He gave a short answer to the question.
- a short supply of provisions
- to be short of money
- The cashier came up short ten dollars on his morning shift.
- an account which is short of the truth
- I'm short General Motors because I think their sales are plunging.
adverb
1. quickly and without warning
Similar word(s): abruptly, dead, suddenly
2. without possessing something at the time it is contractually sold
- he made his fortune by selling short just before the crash
3. clean across
- the car's axle snapped short
4. at some point or distance before a goal is reached
- he fell short of our expectations
5. so as to interrupt
- She took him up short before he could continue
6. at a disadvantage
- I was caught short
Similar word(s): unawares
7. in a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner
- he talked short with everyone
- he said shortly that he didn't like it
Similar word(s): curtly, shortly
Sentences with short as an adverb:
- They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street.
- He cut me short repeatedly in the meeting.
- The boss got a message and cut the meeting short.
- The recent developments at work caught them short.
- His speech fell short of what was expected.
- We went short most finance companies in July.
noun
1. the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed
Definition categories: man–made, parcel, tract
2. accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference
Definition categories: man–made, contact, tangency
3. the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed between second and third base
Similar word(s): shortstop
Definition categories: act, position
Sentences with short as a noun:
- 38 short suits fit me right off the rack.
- Do you have that size in a short.
- Jones smashes a grounder between third and short.
- The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne.
- He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months.
preposition
1. Deficient in.
- We are short a few men on the second shift.
- He's short common sense.
2. (finance) Having a negative position in.
- I don't want to be short the market going into the weekend.
verb
1. cheat someone by not returning him enough money
Definition categories: social, bunco, con, defraud, diddle, goldbrick, hornswoggle, mulct, nobble, rook, scam, swindle, victimize
2. create a short circuit in
Definition categories: creation, create, make
Sentences with short as a verb:
- This is the third time I've caught them shorting us.