adj.
- of a small length or duration.
▸(of a ball in sport) travelling only a small distance before bouncing.
- relatively small in extent.
- (of a person) small in height.
-
(short of/on)
not having enough of (something); lacking or deficient in.
▸in insufficient supply.
- (of a person) terse; uncivil.
- Phonetics (of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel
/ʊ/
in good).
▸Prosody (of a vowel or syllable) having the lesser of the two recognized durations.
- (of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability.
- Stock Exchange (of shares or other assets) sold in advance of being acquired.
▸(of a security) maturing at a relatively early date.
- (of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.
▸(of clay) having poor plasticity.
adv.
(in sport) at, to, or over a short distance.
▸not as far as the point aimed at.
n.
- Brit. informal a strong alcoholic drink, especially spirits, served in small measures.
- a short film as opposed to a feature film.
- a short sound, vowel, or syllable.
- a short circuit.
-
(shorts)
Stock Exchange short-dated stocks.
-
(shorts)
a mixture of bran and coarse flour.
v.
short-circuit.
Phrase
- be caught
(or Brit. taken)
short
- be put at a disadvantage.
- Brit. informal urgently need to urinate or defecate.
- a brick short of a load
(or two sandwiches short of a picnic, etc.)
informal (of a person) stupid or crazy. - bring
(or pull)
someone up short
cause someone to stop or pause abruptly. - for short
as an abbreviation or nickname. - get
(or have)
someone by the short and curlies
informal have complete control of a person. - go short
not have enough of something, especially food. - in short
to sum up; briefly. - in short order
chiefly N. Amer. immediately; rapidly. - in the short run
(or term)
in the near future. - in short supply
(of a commodity) scarce. - make short work of
accomplish, consume, or destroy quickly. - short and sweet
brief and pleasant. - short for
an abbreviation or nickname for. - short of
- less than.
- not reaching as far as.
- without going so far as (some extreme action).
- short of breath
panting; short-winded. - stop short
stop suddenly or abruptly.
Derivative
- shortish adj.
- shortness n.
Etymology
OE sceort, of Gmc origin; rel. to shirt, skirt.