1
as in little
having relatively little height
a lot of boys are shorter than the girls in middle school, but they quickly catch up by high school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brief
not lasting for a considerable time
fortunately for those of us in the hot sun, the graduation speech was short and to the point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
regrettably, the art supplies are short this year, so you'll have to share
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in brittle
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure
short pastry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in blunt
being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner
I didn't mean to be so short with you by responding to your request with a snippy "I'm busy!"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in abruptly
with great suddenness
the bicyclist ahead of me unexpectedly pulled up short and I unavoidably plowed into him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to squeeze
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
charged that the used-car dealer had been shorting customers for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in feature
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of short
Andrew Rice, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
The new deal would see Joby’s four-passenger eVTOL aircraft used from Virgin Atlantic’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester airports for short trips to link up those regions, the companies said.
—Nicole Kobie, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Jack Buffington, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2025
Now a jury is being asked to decide whether the children of the Seminole Tribe were defrauded by the bank managing their trust or sold short by their elders’ skittishness about the volatility of the stock market.
—Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2025
William Pesek, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
So, to speed up the turnover, NASA has shorted the crew overlap to just three days.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
In pleather shorts and satin panties, wrestling singlets and jockstraps, nearly 40 pairs of wrestlers grappled like their very being depended on it.
—Glenna Gordon, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Adjective
With the wind in such short supply, the race committee ordered all teams to leave two of their crew on the dock.
—Andrew Rice, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
The new deal would see Joby’s four-passenger eVTOL aircraft used from Virgin Atlantic’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester airports for short trips to link up those regions, the companies said.
—Nicole Kobie, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Adverb
Then at the beginning of 2024, supplies of insulin ran short due to production issues at Eli Lilly, one of the three companies responsible for over 90% of the U.S. insulin market.
—Jack Buffington, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2025
Now a jury is being asked to decide whether the children of the Seminole Tribe were defrauded by the bank managing their trust or sold short by their elders’ skittishness about the volatility of the stock market.
—Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
None of this ensures that shorting the dollar is suddenly pivoting from widow-maker trade to winner.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
So, to speed up the turnover, NASA has shorted the crew overlap to just three days.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Top brass does not need to see Jeanty perform in shorts (video is available) when his game tape is packed with wow moments.
—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
In pleather shorts and satin panties, wrestling singlets and jockstraps, nearly 40 pairs of wrestlers grappled like their very being depended on it.
—Glenna Gordon, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short
Adjective
-
Governed by a growth mindset devoted to the logic of disruption, moving fast and breaking things, a flourishing structure of feeling about AI and art history has sprung up on the grounds of very little AI-and-art-history to have feelings about.—
Sonja Drimmer,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
-
As the village abbot never far from the woods, or from Martine’s little dining room table, Jacques Develay manages the trick of utter simplicity in his motives and line readings.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The tour through Rome’s historic center came after Francis made his first appearance in five weeks to give a thumbs-up and brief blessing from a hospital balcony.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2025
-
In addition to her recurring role on Melrose Place as antagonistic neurosurgeon Dr. Irene Shulman, Young has guest starred on Bones, This Is Us, and made a brief appearance in the Marvel superhero threequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).—
Andrew Walsh,
EW.com,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Osteoporosis is a medical condition that causes bones to become weakened and brittle.—
Erica Lamberg,
Fox News,
23 Mar. 2025
-
If there is no sign of life after the third week of June passes and the stems feel dry and brittle, your plant is likely dead.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
They were forced to their knees and guards shaved their heads and faces with blunt swoops of an electric razor.—
Josh Meyer,
USA TODAY,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Varley’s grip, her taut observation of nerve-wracking isolation, loosens and the film devolves into a blunt and clichéd consideration of family.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
Donna was first scheduled to stand trial in September 2024, but it was abruptly postponed due to conflicts of interest.—
Emily Krauser,
People.com,
23 Mar. 2025
-
But then the offseason was interrupted abruptly too — by his phone calls.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
This 2019 retread attempts to squeeze that same emotional response out of viewers, simply by recreating every frame through photorealistic CGI.—
Staff Author,
EW.com,
22 Mar. 2025
-
But skyrocketing home prices and stubbornly high mortgage rates in the past few years have squeezed many buyers to the sidelines of the market, raising concerns that this year will see a nationwide drop in sales even during the spring homebuying season.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
After World War II, a neurodegenerative disease that looked just like ALS—though some patients also showed features of Parkinson’s and dementia—surged in Guam, predominantly among the native Chamorro people.—
Shayla Love,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2025
-
The festival’s diverse lineup included 39 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 38 short films.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The Liberals' smallest lead was in a poll conducted by Innovative Research among 1,548 Canadian citizens, which showed the party with a lead of just 2 points, on 36 percent to the Conservatives' 34 percent—a lead within the poll's 3 percent margin of error.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
-
The initial plan of using a hoist to pluck them from the wing proved too dangerous, as the the smallest girl was being buffeted and blown around by the wind created by the helicopter, said Lt. Col. Brendon Holbrook, commander of the 207th Aviation Regiment.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Short.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share