short

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English schort, short, from Old English sċeort, sċort (“short”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurt, from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. Doublet of shirt, skirt, and curt. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʃɔːt/ (General American) IPA(key): /ʃɔɹt/, [ʃɔɹʔ], enPR: shôrt Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t Hyphenation: short === Adjective === short (comparative shorter, superlative shortest) Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically. Synonyms: low, narrow, slim, shallow Antonyms: long, tall, high, broad, deep Of a person, living being, or object, having a comparatively small height. Synonyms: little, pint-sized, petite, (slang) titchy Antonym: tall Having little duration. Synonyms: brief, concise Antonym: long (followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another). (cricket) Of a fielder or fielding position, that is relatively close to the batsman. Antonym: long (cricket) Of a ball, bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman. (golf) Of an approach shot or putt, that falls short of the green or the hole. (gambling) Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered. (baking) Of pastries or (metallurgy) of materials, brittle, crumbly. Abrupt, brief, pointed, curt. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking. Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard. (colloquial) Undiluted; neat. (obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand. (finance) Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future. Antonym: long Coordinate term: long short position (by extension) Doubtful of, skeptical of. (finance, dated) Of money, given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination. Antonym: long ==== Usage notes ==== Short is often used in the positive vertical dimension and used as is shallow in the negative vertical dimension; in the horizontal dimension, narrow is more commonly used. ==== Translations ==== === Adverb === short (not comparable) Abruptly, curtly, briefly. Unawares. Without achieving a goal or requirement. (cricket, of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball) Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full. (finance) With a negative ownership position. ==== Translations ==== === Noun === short (plural shorts) A short circuit. A short film. (Internet) A short-form vertical video. A short version of a garment in a particular size. (baseball) A shortstop. (finance) A short seller. (finance) A short sale or short position. A summary account. (phonetics) A short phone (such as a vowel) or syllable. (programming) An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long. (US, slang) An automobile. crack shorts ― to break into automobiles (Philippines) Ellipsis of short bond paper. ==== Descendants ==== → Cantonese: short → Italian: short → Japanese: ショート (shōto) → Chinese: Mandarin: 秀逗 (xiùdou) Hakka: 秀逗 (sió-tò) → Maltese: xort → Russian: шорт (šort) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === short (third-person singular simple present shorts, present participle shorting, simple past and past participle shorted) (transitive) To cause a short circuit in (something). (intransitive, of an electrical circuit) To short circuit. (transitive, informal) To provide with an amount smaller than that agreed or labeled; to shortchange. (transitive, business) 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. (obsolete) To shorten. ==== Descendants ==== → Maltese: xxortja ==== Translations ==== === Preposition === short Deficient in. Synonym: lacking (finance) Having a negative position in. ==== Translations ==== === Derived terms === === See also === shorts === Anagrams === Stohr, horst, trosh, Horst, hotṛs, Roths, thors, Stroh, hotrs == Albanian == === Alternative forms === shortë, shorte === Etymology === Borrowed through Vulgar Latin from Latin sors, sortem. === Noun === short m (plural shórte, definite shórti, definite plural shórtet) (uncountable) drawing (action where the outcome is selected by chance using a draw) (originally southern Gheg, Tirana) sweepstakes, lot, portion (in the plural) stake, share, inheritance Synonym: hise (figurative) luck Synonym: fat (figurative) spouse, consort Synonyms: bashkëshort, burrë, grua (archaic) fortune-telling ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== === References === === Further reading === FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎[6], 1980 “short”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006 Mann, S. E. (1948), “short”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 488 == Chinese == === Etymology === From English short, in the sense of a short circuit. Cognate with Taiwanese Hokkien 秀逗. === Pronunciation === === Adjective === short (Cantonese) insane; crazy short short哋 [Cantonese] ― sot1 sot1 dei6-2 [Jyutping] ― a bit crazy 有都唔借你啦，short㗎你？ [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]jau5 du1 m4 ze3 nei5 laa1, sot1 gaa4 nei5? [Jyutping]I'm not lending it [my homework to you] even if I have done it. You're crazy, aren't you? ==== Synonyms ==== === Verb === short (Cantonese, of people) to become insane; to become crazy (Cantonese, of electronics) to malfunction (Cantonese, electrical engineering) to short-circuit === References === English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese == French == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English shorts. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ʃɔʁt/ === Noun === short m (plural shorts) shorts, short trousers (UK) === Further reading === “short”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Italian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English short. === Noun === short m (invariable) short (short film etc.) == Middle English == === Adjective === short alternative form of schort == Portuguese == === Alternative forms === shorts === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English shorts. Doublet of curto. === Pronunciation === === Noun === short m (plural shorts) (Brazil) shorts (pants that do not go lower than the knees) Synonyms: calção, calções, shorts === Further reading === “short”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “short”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026 “short”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026 “short”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN “short”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English shorts. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈʃoɾt/ [ˈʃoɾt̪] Rhymes: -oɾt Syllabification: short === Noun === short m (plural shorts) shorts ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “short”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025