short

adjective shorter · shortest

1. Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.

   Similar: low, narrow, slim, shallow · Opposite: long, tall, high, broad, deep

2. Of a person, living being, or object, having a comparatively small height. Nhung Ngo had the shortest legs at Site-43. She was the shortest member of staff, two inches beneath the positively elfin Delfina Ibanez, and yet Lillian found her inexplicably difficult to shake. Power-walking down the halls didn't do the trick, as it always did when Wettle-dodging, since the dimin

   Similar: little, pint-sized, petite, titchy · Opposite: tall

3. Having little duration. Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it’s been at least twenty minutes long.

   Similar: brief, concise · Opposite: long

4. followed by for Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another). "Phone" is short for "telephone" and "asap" short for "as soon as possible".
5. Of a fielder or fielding position, that is relatively close to the batsman.

   Opposite: long

6. Of a ball, bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.
7. Of an approach shot or putt, that falls short of the green or the hole.
8. Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.
9. Of pastries or (metallurgy) of materials, brittle, crumbly. shortbread
10. Abrupt, brief, pointed, curt. He gave a short answer to the question.
11. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty. a short supply of provisions
12. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking. to be short of money
13. Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard. an account which is short of the truth
14. colloquial Undiluted; neat. “There ain’t no drain of nothing short handy, is there?” said the Chicken, generally. “This here sluicing night is hard lines to a man as lives on his condition.” Captain Cuttle proffered a glass of rum […]
15. obsolete Not distant in time; near at hand. Marinell was sore offended / That his departure thence should be so short.
16. Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future. short position

    Opposite: long

17. broadly Doubtful of, skeptical of.
18. dated Of money, given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination. He pulled a cheque-book from his pocket, and drew for two hundred thousand pounds. “I'll take it short,” he said […]

    Opposite: long

Similar: low, scrimp, short, shortsome, stubbed, stubby, stumpy, vertically challenged · Opposite: long, tall

adverb

1. not comparable Abruptly, curtly, briefly. They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street.
2. not comparable Unawares. The recent developments at work caught them short.
3. not comparable Without achieving a goal or requirement. His speech fell short of what was expected.
4. not comparable, of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.
5. not comparable With a negative ownership position. We went short most finance companies in July.

noun shorts

1. A short circuit. The circuit breaker keeps tripping because there's a short in the wiring.
2. A short film. Preceded by a Simpsons short shot in 3-D—perhaps the only thing more superfluous than a fourth Ice Age movie—Ice Age: Continental Drift finds a retinue of vaguely contemporaneous animals coping with life in the post-Pangaea age.
3. Internet A short-form vertical video.
4. Internet, broadly A vertical video of any length. long short
5. A short version of a garment in a particular size. 38 short suits fit me right off the rack.
6. A shortstop. Jones smashes a grounder between third and short.
7. A short seller. The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne.
8. A short sale or short position. He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months.
9. A summary account. For the short and the long is, our play is preferred.
10. A short phone (such as a vowel) or syllable. If we compare the nearest conventional shorts and longs in English, as in ‘bit’ and ‘beat’, ‘not’ and ‘naught’, we find that the short vowels are generally wide (i, ɔ), the long narrow (i, ɔ), besides being generally diphthongic as well.
11. An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.
12. US, slang An automobile. crack shorts
13. Philippines, abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of short bond paper

verb shorts · shorting · shorted

1. transitive To cause a short circuit in (something). You should short the poles of the capacitor to discharge it before you work on it.
2. intransitive, of an electrical circuit To short circuit.
3. informal, transitive To provide with an amount smaller than that agreed or labeled; to shortchange. This is the third time I've caught them shorting us.
4. transitive To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short.
5. obsolete To shorten.

preposition

1. Deficient in. We are short a few men on the second shift.

   Similar: lacking

2. Having a negative position in. I don’t want to be short the market going into the weekend.

proper noun

1. A surname. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had just inserted Zack Short to pinch-hit for Akil Baddoo, the type of chess-match move Hinch is making more than ever this season.
2. An unincorporated community in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States.
3. A census-designated place in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States.