short story

noun

1. a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words.

short story

noun

1. a prose narrative of shorter length than the novel, esp one that concentrates on a single theme

Other Words From

• short-story adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of short story¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The first time Laurel Ollstein used a Dorothy Parker short story for a theatrical monologue in college, everyone was impressed.

From Los Angeles Times

The short story is we need to win a trophy.

From BBC

An amateur historian has discovered a long-lost short story by Bram Stoker, published just seven years before his legendary gothic novel Dracula.

From BBC

I am reading his first book of short stories called “Emporium” that I found at a used bookstore in New Jersey, and I couldn’t believe it because I thought I’d read all of his stuff.

From Los Angeles Times

So some of the songs I was writing were sort of very literal short story format kind of songs, character studies, about people living in a world where things had collapsed.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• narrative
• novella
• tale