short

short [shôrt]

adj.

[ME < OE scort, akin to ON skort, short piece of clothing, OHG scurz, short < IE * (s)kerd- < base * (s)ker-, to cut, SHEAR < CURT]

1. not extending far from end to end; not long or not long enough

2. not great in span, range, or scope [a short distance, journey, throw, view, etc.]

3. low or relatively low in height; not tall

4.

a) lasting only a little time; brief

b) passing quickly [a few short weeks]

5. not retentive for long [a short memory]

6. condensed or concise, as a literary style, story, speech, etc.

7. brief or abrupt to the point of rudeness; curt

8. quickly angered or irked

9. less than or lacking a sufficient or correct amount, amount of time, etc. [a short measure, short on money, short notice]

10. not far enough to reach the mark, objective, etc. [the shot fell short]

11. having a tendency to break or crumble; friable; specif.,

a) crisp or flaky, as pastry made from dough rich in shortening

b) brittle and inductile when cold (cold short) or hot (hot short): said of metal

☆ c) not having in possession at the time of sale the commodity or security one is selling in anticipation of a decline in price

d) designating or of a sale of commodities or securities not in the possession of the seller: see also SHORT SALE

12. Phonet.

a) articulated for a relatively short time; brief in duration: said of a speech sound

b) popularly not diphthongized [the short a in “pan” ]: opposed to LONG¹, adj. 12 b

13. Prosody

a) requiring a relatively short time to pronounce: said of syllables in quantitative verse

b) unstressed: said of syllables in accentual verse

n.

1. something that is short; specif.,

a) a short sound or syllable, contrasted with one that is long

b) a film usually less than 30 min. in length

c) a fish or lobster below the size that may be legally taken

d) a shot that falls short of the target or objective

2. a variation of clothing size shorter than the average for that size

3. [pl.]

a) short, loose trousers reaching partway to the knee, worn in sports, etc.

☆ b) men's undershorts

4. [pl.] items needed to make up a shortage or deficiency

5. [pl.] a byproduct of wheat milling that consists of bran, germ, and coarse meal

6. [pl.] trimmings, clippings, etc. left over in the manufacture of various products

7. short for

☆ a) SHORTSTOP

b) SHORT CIRCUIT

8. one who has not yet covered the short sale of a stock, commodity, etc.

adv.

1. abruptly; suddenly

2. rudely; curtly

3. briefly; concisely

4. so as to be short in length

5. by surprise; unawares [caught short]

6. by a short sale

vt., vi.

1. to give less than what is needed, wanted, or usual

2. short for

a) SHORTCHANGE

b) SHORT-CIRCUIT

SYN.- BRIEF

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for short

by way of abbreviation or contraction

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in short

1. in summing up; to summarize

2. in a few words; briefly

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run short

to have or be less than enough

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short and sweet

agreeably or expeditiously brief

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short for

being a shortened form of, or an abbreviation or nickname for

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short of

1. not equaling; less than

2. without a sufficient or correct amount of; lacking

3. not far enough to reach (the mark, objective, etc.)

4. without actually resorting to

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☆ the short end of the stick

the worst of a deal

shortness

n.