in short

英：[ɪn ʃɔːt]

美：[ɪn ʃɔːrt]

adjective

having little length

not tall or high : low

not extended in time : brief

a short vacation

not retentive

a short memory

expeditious, quick

made short work of the problem

seeming to pass quickly

made great progress in just a few short years

of a speech sound having a relatively short duration

being the member of a pair of similarly spelled vowel or vowel-containing sounds that is descended from a vowel that was short in duration but is no longer so and that does not necessarily have duration as its chief distinguishing feature

short i in sin

of relatively brief duration

limited in distance

a short trip

not coming up to a measure or requirement : insufficient

in short supply

not reaching far enough

the throw to first was short

enduring privation

insufficiently supplied short of cash short on brains

short of breath

abrupt, curt

I'm sorry I was short with you

quickly provoked

a short temper

choppy sense 2

payable at an early date

a short loan

containing or cooked with shorteningalso: flaky

short pastry

of metal brittle under certain conditions

not lengthy or drawn out

a short speech

made briefer : abbreviated

not having goods or property that one has sold in anticipation of a fall in prices

consisting of, relating to, or engaging in the sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale a short seller

short sale

near the end of a tour of duty

adverb

in a curt manner

for or during a brief time

short-lasting

at a disadvantage : unawares

caught short

in an abrupt manner : suddenly

the car stopped short

at some point or degree before a goal or limit aimed at or under consideration quit a month short of graduation

the bombs fell short

clean across

the axle was snapped short

by or as if by a short sale

noun

the sum and substance : upshot

a short syllable

a short sound or signal

a by-product of wheat milling that includes the germ, fine bran, and some flour

refuse, clippings, or trimmings discarded in various manufacturing processes

knee-length or less than knee-length trousers—usually used in plural

shorts plural short drawers

a size in clothing for short men

one who operates on the short side of the market

shorts plural short-term bonds

shorts plural deficiencies

short circuit

shortstop

short subject

a brief story or article (as in a newspaper)

verb

transitive + intransitive short-circuit The housing association gave her a "temperamental" electric shower but this cannot be used as the time as other electric items—including the television—as it will cause the circuit to short.—Anna Slater—often used with out in U.S. English… microscopic particles of airborne dust are large enough to short out the chip's circuitry.—Michael Rothschild… were sabotaging the system by deliberately entering incorrect information into the computers and, if all else failed, hosing the computers down until they shorted out.—John Sedgwick

The electrical system also received upgrades: Most rooms had only three or fewer outlets, and plugging in multiple devices usually shorted the circuit.—Steven Wyman-Blackburn

transitive informal shortchange, cheat

When she returned minutes later, she handed me a twenty-dollar bill and a five. No change and no receipt, which meant I couldn't call her on the fact that she'd shorted Henry by sixty-six cents.—Sue Grafton

transitive finance to sell (a security) short in expectation of a fall in prices Today [in 2003], only two per cent of all United States stock-market shares are shorted, and even with looser restrictions short selling is likely to remain uncommon.—James Surowiecki

a heavily shorted stock

adjective

having little length

not tall or high : low

not extended in time : brief

a short vacation

not retentive

a short memory

expeditious, quick

made short work of the problem

seeming to pass quickly

made great progress in just a few short years

of a speech sound having a relatively short duration

being the member of a pair of similarly spelled vowel or vowel-containing sounds that is descended from a vowel that was short in duration but is no longer so and that does not necessarily have duration as its chief distinguishing feature

short i in sin

of relatively brief duration

limited in distance

a short trip

not coming up to a measure or requirement : insufficient

in short supply

not reaching far enough

the throw to first was short

enduring privation

insufficiently supplied short of cash short on brains

short of breath

abrupt, curt

I'm sorry I was short with you

quickly provoked

a short temper

choppy sense 2

payable at an early date

a short loan

containing or cooked with shorteningalso: flaky

short pastry

of metal brittle under certain conditions

not lengthy or drawn out

a short speech

made briefer : abbreviated

not having goods or property that one has sold in anticipation of a fall in prices

consisting of, relating to, or engaging in the sale of securities or commodities that the seller does not possess or has not contracted for at the time of the sale a short seller

short sale

near the end of a tour of duty

adverb

in a curt manner

for or during a brief time

short-lasting

at a disadvantage : unawares

caught short

in an abrupt manner : suddenly

the car stopped short

at some point or degree before a goal or limit aimed at or under consideration quit a month short of graduation

the bombs fell short

clean across

the axle was snapped short

by or as if by a short sale

noun

the sum and substance : upshot

a short syllable

a short sound or signal

a by-product of wheat milling that includes the germ, fine bran, and some flour

refuse, clippings, or trimmings discarded in various manufacturing processes

knee-length or less than knee-length trousers—usually used in plural

shorts plural short drawers

a size in clothing for short men

one who operates on the short side of the market

shorts plural short-term bonds

shorts plural deficiencies

short circuit

shortstop

short subject

a brief story or article (as in a newspaper)

verb

transitive + intransitive short-circuit The housing association gave her a "temperamental" electric shower but this cannot be used as the time as other electric items—including the television—as it will cause the circuit to short.—Anna Slater—often used with out in U.S. English… microscopic particles of airborne dust are large enough to short out the chip's circuitry.—Michael Rothschild… were sabotaging the system by deliberately entering incorrect information into the computers and, if all else failed, hosing the computers down until they shorted out.—John Sedgwick

The electrical system also received upgrades: Most rooms had only three or fewer outlets, and plugging in multiple devices usually shorted the circuit.—Steven Wyman-Blackburn

transitive informal shortchange, cheat

When she returned minutes later, she handed me a twenty-dollar bill and a five. No change and no receipt, which meant I couldn't call her on the fact that she'd shorted Henry by sixty-six cents.—Sue Grafton

transitive finance to sell (a security) short in expectation of a fall in prices Today [in 2003], only two per cent of all United States stock-market shares are shorted, and even with looser restrictions short selling is likely to remain uncommon.—James Surowiecki

a heavily shorted stock

Adjective Middle English, from Old English sceort; akin to Old High German scurz short, Old Norse skortr lack

The first known use of short was before the 12th century

secret1 of 2adjective

hidden or kept from knowledge or view

working in secret as a spy or detective : undercover

a secret agent

secluded sense 1

a secret valley

secret2 of 2noun

something that cannot be explained : mystery

something kept from the knowledge of others or shared only privately with a few

something taken to be necessary to gain a desired end

the secret of a long life

secret1 of 2adjective

hidden or kept from knowledge or view

working in secret as a spy or detective : undercover

a secret agent

secluded sense 1

a secret valley

secret2 of 2noun

something that cannot be explained : mystery

something kept from the knowledge of others or shared only privately with a few

something taken to be necessary to gain a desired end

the secret of a long life

seriesnoun

a number of things or events arranged in order and connected by being alike in some way a series of talks

a concert series

a division of rock formations smaller than a system comprising rocks deposited during an epoch

an arrangement of the parts of or elements in an electric circuit whereby the whole current passes through each part or element without branching

a group of sentence elements of the same rank that follow one after another and are joined together

the phrase "a bowl of oranges, apples, and bananas" has a series of three nouns

seriesnoun

a number of things or events arranged in order and connected by being alike in some way a series of talks

a concert series

a division of rock formations smaller than a system comprising rocks deposited during an epoch

an arrangement of the parts of or elements in an electric circuit whereby the whole current passes through each part or element without branching

a group of sentence elements of the same rank that follow one after another and are joined together

the phrase "a bowl of oranges, apples, and bananas" has a series of three nouns

shape1 of 2verb

to give a certain form or shape to

shape the dough into loaves

to change in shape so as to fit neatly and closely

a hat shaped close to the head

devise sense 1, plan

to make fit especially for some purpose

shaping the minds of future leaders

to take on or approach a definite form—often used with up

shape2 of 2noun

outward appearance : form

the shape of a pearl

the outline of a body : figure

a square shape

definite form and arrangement

a plan now taking shape

something having a certain form

the condition in which something or someone is at a certain time

the car was in poor shape

shape1 of 2verb

to give a certain form or shape to

shape the dough into loaves

to change in shape so as to fit neatly and closely

a hat shaped close to the head

devise sense 1, plan

to make fit especially for some purpose

shaping the minds of future leaders

to take on or approach a definite form—often used with up

shape2 of 2noun

outward appearance : form

the shape of a pearl

the outline of a body : figure

a square shape

definite form and arrangement

a plan now taking shape

something having a certain form

the condition in which something or someone is at a certain time

the car was in poor shape

short1 of 4adjective

having little length or height : not long or tall

not long in time : brief

a short delay

not great in distance

a short walk

not remembering for long

a short memory

of, relating to, or being one of the vowel sounds \ə, a, e, i, u̇\ and sometimes \ä\ and \ȯ\

not coming up to the regular standard or to what is needed in short supply

gave short measure

not reaching far enough

the throw was short

not having enough

short of cash

easily upset

has a short temper

flaky sense 2, crumbly

cut down to a brief length "doc" is short for "doctor"

a short tax form

short2 of 4adverb

with suddenness

stopped short

so as not to reach as far as expected

fell short of the mark

short3 of 4noun

a short signal or sound (as in Morse Code)

pants that reach to the knees or not as far as the knees

short underpants

short circuit

short4 of 4verb

short-circuit