shorten

American  

[shawr-tn] / ˈʃɔr tn /

verb (used with object)

1. to make short or shorter.

   Synonyms:

   restrict, limit, lessen, condense

2. to reduce, decrease, take in, etc..

   to shorten sail.

3. to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat.

4. Sports. choke.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become short or shorter.

   Synonyms:

   lessen, contract

2. (of odds) to decrease.

shorten British  

/ ˈʃɔːtən /

verb

1. to make or become short or shorter

2. (tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)

3. (tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat

4. gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less

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Related Words

Shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail mean to make shorter or briefer. Shorten is a general word meaning to make less in extent or duration: to shorten a dress, a prisoner's sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. To abbreviate is to make shorter by omission or contraction: to abbreviate a word. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. Curtail suggests deprivation and lack of completeness because of omitting some part: to curtail an explanation.

Other Word Forms

• overshorten verb
• preshorten verb (used with object)
• reshorten verb
• shortener noun
• undershorten verb (used with object)
• unshorten adjective

Etymology

Origin of shorten

First recorded in 1505–15; short + -en ¹

Example Sentences

Depending on how long the conflict lasts, however, some facilities could elect to shorten or postpone their usual May and June maintenance schedules, he said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

However, weather conditions can shorten the process to four days or prolong it for as long as a month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

She explained that these models could shorten the time needed to evaluate potential preventive therapies.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

“We need to speed up and shorten the innovation cycle,” he says, pointing to the situation in Ukraine where front-line units and manufacturers collaborate to improve weapons on the fly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

Once people began to produce food and become sedentary, they could shorten the birth spacing and produce still more people, requiring still more food.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• abbreviate
• compress
• curtail
• cut
• cut back
• cut down
• lessen
• minimize
• reduce
• shrink
• slash
• trim