shorten
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
shorten¹
- /ˈʃɔːtn̩/ UK
- /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/ US
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)tən
Where it comes from
From Middle English shortnen, schortenen, equivalent to short + -en (verbal suffix). In some senses, a continuation (in altered form) of Middle English schorten (“to make short, shorten”), from Old English sċortian (“to become short”), from Proto-Germanic *skurtōną (“to shorten”).
verb shortens · shortening · shortened
- To make shorter; to abbreviate. York came round to our heads and shortened the rein himself, one hole I think; every little makes a difference, be it for better or worse, and that day we had a steep hill to go up.
- To become shorter.
- To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of). Spoiled of his nose, and shorten'd of his ears.
- To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc.
- To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen. to shorten an allowance of food
- To make crumbly. Corn flour makes delicious pie crust, and needs less lard to shorten it.
- To take in the slack of (a rope).
- To reduce (sail) by taking it in.
- to dress (a baby) in a short (rather than long) gown Anne and Leslie had another cry the next week when they shortened Little Jem. Anne felt the tragedy of it until evening when in his long nightie she found her own dear baby again.
Similar: abbreviate, abridge, chop down, chop off, cut short, compress, condense, curt, curtail, lop off, make shorter, pare, prune, reduce in length, shorten, trim, truncate, saw off · Opposite: extend, lengthen
Shorten²
proper noun Shortens
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: abridge, reduce, expurgate, bowdlerize, bowdlerise, cut, abbreviate, contract, foreshorten, narrow, reducing, curtail, restrict, reduced, shrink, downsize
Translations
Every language
verb to make shorter
| Español | acortar, acorzar, alcorzar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 縮める chijimeru, 短くする mijikaku suru, 短縮する tanshuku suru |
| 中文 | 弄短 nòng duǎn |
| Português | encurtar |
| Français | raccourcir, écourter |
| Deutsch | verkürzen |
| Italiano | accorciarescorciare |
| Ελληνικά | συμπτύσσω symptýsso |
| Română | scurta |
| Русский | укора́чивать ukoráčivatʹ, укороти́ть ukorotítʹ, сокраща́ть sokraščátʹ, сократи́ть sokratítʹ |
| العربية | قَصَّرَ qaṣṣara |
| עברית | קיצר kitsér |
verb to become shorter
| Español | acortarse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 縮む chidimu, 短くなる mijikaku naru |
| 中文 | 縮短 /缩短 suōduǎn |
| Português | encurtar |
| Français | raccourcir, s'écourter |
| Deutsch | kürzer werden |
| Русский | укора́чиваться ukoráčivatʹsja, укороти́ться ukorotítʹsja, сокраща́ться sokraščátʹsja, сократи́ться sokratítʹsja |
| עברית | הִתְקַצֵּר hitqatzér |
Talk about this word "shorten." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shorten. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shorten. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shorten "shorten." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shorten.Cite this
@misc{shorten_2026,
title = {shorten},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shorten},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
