shorthand
English · Thesaurus
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shorthand
- /ˈʃɔːthænd/ UK
- /ˈʃɔɹthænd/ US
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from short + hand (“handwriting; style of penmanship”). The verb is derived from the noun.
noun shorthands · short hand · short-hand
-
A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc.
There is a Notion prevails among many People, to yͤ prejudice of all kinds of Short-hand; which is this. That when a Person sets down a Memorandum in his pocket Book in Short-hand, it is lost, in caſe of Death or any other accident, to yͤ rest of yͤ World, though it may contain things of great Conse
Similar: brachygraphy, stenography, phonography · Opposite: longhand
- Any brief or shortened way of saying or doing something. The jargon becomes a shorthand for these advanced concepts.
verb shorthands · shorthanding · shorthanded
- To render (spoken or written words) into shorthand. All the time she'd pretended to be fiddling with her purse over there behind the man, she'd been shorthanding him down—every word, every quotation, every date, every name.
- To use a brief or shortened way of saying or doing something. It seems to me, however one looks at it—and I am torpedoing, "shorthanding", my arguments, though they can be developed at great length—that there is no military case for a large standing Army, and I pick out three arguments that I think are tremendously important which I should like the Minister to
- To write in shorthand. Steele nodded and settled on the chesterfield. He regarded Betty seriously, her notebook poised on the table beside her as she reclined in her chair. [...] "I remember," Betty acknowledged, and went on shorthanding.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: stenography, written, tachygraphy, stenographer, transcript, abbreviation, reporting, code, designate, shortcut, age, brachygraphy, speedwriting, phonography, shortform, contraction
Translations
Every language
noun rough and rapid method of writing
| Español | taquigrafía, estenografía |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | आशुलिपि āśulipi |
| Português | estenografia, taquigrafia |
| Français | sténographie |
| Deutsch | Kurzschrift, Stenografie, Stenographie |
| Italiano | stenografia |
| Ελληνικά | ταχυγραφία tachygrafía, στενογραφία stenografía |
| Русский | стеногра́фия stenográfija, ско́ропись skóropisʹ |
noun brief or shortened way of saying or doing something
| Español | abreviatura |
|---|---|
| Português | resumo |
| Deutsch | Stenogramm |
| Ελληνικά | συντομογραφία syntomografía |
| Русский | ско́ропись skóropisʹ, усло́вное обозначе́ние uslóvnoje oboznačénije |
verb To write in shorthand
| Tiếng Việt | tốc kí |
|---|
Talk about this word "shorthand." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shorthand. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shorthand. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shorthand "shorthand." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shorthand.Cite this
@misc{shorthand_2026,
title = {shorthand},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shorthand},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
