26984 words

shorter

34 definitions • 53 examples
1

Examples:

Her hair is much shorter than it used to be.
It's only a short walk to the station.
I'm fairly short but my brother's very tall.
2
used to say that a name is used as a shorter form of another name:

Examples:

short for Her name's Jo - it's short for Josephine.
for short Her name's Josephine, or Jo for short.
3
being an amount of time that is less than average or usual:

Examples:

He's grown so much in such a short time.
I work much better if I take a short break every hour or so.
4
Short books, letters, and other examples of writing do not contain many words and do not take much time to read:

Examples:

It's a very short book - you'll read it in an hour.
5
to not have enough of something:

Examples:

to be short of space/time
6
unable to breathe very well, for example because you have been running or doing some type of energetic exercise, or because you may be ill:

Examples:

She's always short of breath when she climbs the stairs.
7
to be few or not enough in number:

Examples:

Free desks are in short supply in this office.
8
to not have something, especially when it is something you need in order to live:

Examples:

go short (of) My parents didn't have much money, but they made sure we didn't go short (of anything).
9
saying little but showing slight impatience or anger in the few words that you say:

Examples:

short with I'm sorry if I was a bit short with you on the phone this morning.
10
a drink of spirits (= type of strong alcohol) without water or any other liquid added:

Examples:

She only drinks shorts, never wine or beer.
11
a short film, especially one made for showing before the main film at a cinema
12
informal for
13
in baseball, the position on the inner part of the field between second base (= the second of the places that a player has to touch in order to score) and third base, or the player at that position:

Examples:

Tommy will play short and bat third for us.
14
15
to treat someone unfairly, by giving them less than they deserve, or less than what is needed or usual:

Examples:

She calculated that many of the state's 176 school districts were being shorted a total of $161 million annually.
He said the company has shorted him $500 in the past six months.
16
to sell a share or currency that you have borrowed when you think its price is going to fall, with the intention of buying it back later at a lower price, then keeping the profit after paying back what you borrowed:

Examples:

At the time it was the market's most shorted stock - with traders staking more than £100 million on the share price falling.
One famous example was when George Soros shorted the pound in 1992, and Britain was forced out of the European exchange rate mechanism.
17
before the arranged or expected time or place:

Examples:

stop someone short We wanted to explain the plans fully, but the chairman stopped us short, as there were other important matters to discuss.
18
used with adjectives ending in -ed formed from nouns to describe something with a short part:

Examples:

a short-haired dog (= a dog with short hair)
a short-sleeved shirt (= a shirt with short sleeves)
19
having little length, distance, or height:

Examples:

Short hair is back in style.
It’s only a short walk to the store.
20
of a small amount of time, or less than the average or usual amount of time:

Examples:

Mary Lou was here a short while ago.
There will be a short delay in the flight while we load a few more bags.
21

Examples:

The bill comes to $85, but we’re $15 short.
22
in a way that makes something short in length, distance, or height:

Examples:

She decided to cut her hair short.
23
before the arranged or expected time or place:

Examples:

I started to say something, but he cut me short (= stopped me from continuing).
24
not having enough of something that you need:

Examples:

be short of sth We are very short of staff and if we face a major incident we'll be stretched.
be short on sth The Budget was short on announcements about personal taxes.
leave sth short of sth The rocky economy has left the state so short of money that it must cut spending.
25
not available or not large enough in number or amount:

Examples:

The most common ways of ending an interview are saying that time is short.
Those from well-off homes tend to be spendthrift even when money is short.
26

Examples:

short of sth The charity raised just short of €7m last year.
27
used to describe the selling of shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, making a profit:

Examples:

In a short sale, an investor can sell stock he doesn't own, hoping to buy the shares at a cheaper price later on.
28
used to describe a shorter form of a name or word:

Examples:

short for sth Ami is short for artificial machine intelligence.
for short Keep an eye on Canada's Northern Telecom, Nortel for short.
29
with little warning:

Examples:

Many start-up companies need the freedom to hire and fire staff at short notice.
30

Examples:

If you can offer talents that are in short supply, you are in a strong position.
31
if you sell shares short, you sell shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, making a profit:

Examples:

A popular hedge fund move is to go short.
go short on sth Speculators are going short on the Hong Kong dollar.
32
if you run short of something, you have too little of it left:

Examples:

The bank has been plagued for months by speculation that it is running short of capital.
33
if something runs short, there is little of it left:

Examples:

Time is for a deal to get done.
In two months food will run short.
34
to sell shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, so that you make a profit:

Examples:

As many as 27% of the company's shares have been shorted.

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