Definition of "short"

short

/ʃɔːt/

adjective
comparative shorter, superlative shortest
1. Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.
2. (of a person) Of comparatively small height.
3. Having little duration.
  Quotations
  Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.
  2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, page 172
4. (followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).
5. (cricket, of a fielder or fielding position) that is relatively close to the batsman.
6. (cricket, of a ball) bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.
7. (golf, of an approach shot or putt) that falls short of the green or the hole.
8. (gambling) Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.
9. (baking, of pastries, metallurgy) Brittle, crumbly. (See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust, shortening, hot short, cold-short.)
  Quotations
  I chose to interpret the references to butter and sugar as indicating that a short pastry was required. (Later editions suggest a biscuit-like texture.)
  2013, Heston Blumenthal, Historic Heston, page 122
10. Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant.
  Quotations
  “We are short to-night!” cries the woman, with a propitiatory laugh. “Short and snappish we are! […] ”
  1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870
11. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.
12. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking.
13. Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.
  Quotations
  […] the people are worn down with taxes, and hardly anything short of an invasion could rouse them again to war.
  1829, Walter Savage Landor, “The Emperor Alexander and Capo D'Istria”, in Imaginary Conversations, volume IV
14. (colloquial) Undiluted; neat.
  Quotations
  “There ain’t no drain of nothing short handy, is there?” said the Chicken, generally. “This here sluicing night is hard lines to a man as lives on his condition.”Captain Cuttle proffered a glass of rum […]
  1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848
  Delance raised his beer and watched Hoadly throw down another swig of hard stuff. "Take it short if you want to make it over the mountain tonight."
  2003, Linda Chaikin, Desert Rose
15. (obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand.
  Quotations
  Marinell was sore offended / That his departure thence should be so short.
  1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, stanza 18
  He commanded those who were appointed to attend him to be ready by a short day.
  1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707
  But, alas! he who escapes from death is not pardoned; he is only reprieved, and reprieved to a short day.
  1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume I, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […]
16. (finance) Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.
17. (by extension) Doubtful of, skeptical of.
18. (finance, dated) Of money: given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination.
  Quotations
  He pulled a cheque-book from his pocket, and drew for two hundred thousand pounds. “I'll take it short,” he said […]
  1909, James Blyth, The member for Easterby, page 296
adverb
not comparable
1. Abruptly, curtly, briefly.
2. Unawares.
3. Without achieving a goal or requirement.
4. (cricket, of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball) Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.
5. (finance) With a negative ownership position.
noun
plural shorts
1. A short circuit.
2. A short film.
  Quotations
  Preceded by a Simpsons short shot in 3-D—perhaps the only thing more superfluous than a fourth Ice Age movie—Ice Age: Continental Drift finds a retinue of vaguely contemporaneous animals coping with life in the post-Pangaea age.
  2012 July 12, Sam Adams, AV Club, Ice Age: Continental Drift‎
3. A short version of a garment in a particular size.
4. (baseball) A shortstop.
5. (finance) A short seller.
6. (finance) A short sale or short position.
7. A summary account.
  Quotations
  For the short and the long is, our play is preferred.
  c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]
8. (phonetics) A short sound, syllable, or vowel.
  Quotations
  If we compare the nearest conventional shorts and longs in English, as in ‘bit’ and ‘beat’, ‘not’ and ‘naught’, we find that the short vowels are generally wide (i, ɔ), the long narrow (i, ɔ), besides being generally diphthongic as well.
  1877, Henry Sweet, A Handbook of Phonetics, page 18
9. (programming) An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.
10. (US, slang) An automobile; especially in crack shorts, to break into automobiles.
  Quotations
  For example, one addict would crack shorts (break and enter cars) and usually obtain just enough stolen goods to buy stuff and get off just before getting sick.
  1975, Mary Sanches, Ben G. Blount, Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Use, page 47
  […] list of all crimes reported by these 61 daily criminals during their years on the street is: theft (this includes shoplifting; "cracking shorts", burglary and other forms of stealing), dealing, forgery, gambling, confidence games (flim-flam, etc.) […]
  1982, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, Career Criminal Life Sentence Act of 1981: Hearings, page 87
verb
third-person singular simple present shorts, present participle shorting, simple past and past participle shorted
1. (transitive) To cause a short circuit in (something).
2. (intransitive, of an electrical circuit) To short circuit.
3. (transitive) To shortchange.
4. (transitive, informal) To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount.
5. (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.
6. (obsolete) To shorten.
preposition
1. Deficient in.
2. (finance) Having a negative position in.

Definition of "short"

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