shorten

[ shawr-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 ( def 8 ).

verb (used without object)

1. to become short or shorter.

   Synonyms: lessen, contract

2. (of odds) to decrease.

shorten

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈshortener, noun

Other Words From

• shorten·er noun
• over·shorten verb
• pre·shorten verb (used with object)
• re·shorten verb
• under·shorten verb (used with object)
• un·shorten adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shorten¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Lord Cameron said he believed the current proposal was "not about ending life, it is about shortening death".

From BBC

This has been a season in which a young man has been finding his identity – not least in shortening his name from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens at the suggestion of his father.

From BBC

A 2022 study by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that air pollution can shorten the lives of people in Delhi by almost 10 years.

From BBC

"My goal is to make this tool and similar approaches more accessible to biologists and clinicians in order to shorten the time it takes to develop powerful new medicines," Miller says.

From Science Daily

She said her plan was focused on “shortening death rather than ending life,” and ensuring "the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world".

From BBC

Related Words

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