short story

noun

: an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot

Examples of short story in a Sentence

her very first short story was accepted for publication in a local journal
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
But frankly, a book of short stories is usually a difficult kind of book with which to launch an author. John Updike, New Yorker, 11 July 2025 New Ritual Press just released its first book, the short story collection An Odyssey of Dingbats by Omar King, one of several pieces featured in tonight’s readings. John McDermott, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2025 Movie 43 Release date: January 25, 2013 Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Josh Duhamel, Emily Alyn Lind Movie 43 is an anthology of 14 short stories, unconnected, but all steered towards comedy. Grace Dean, Space.com, 3 July 2025 Theodoridou’s short story taps into more than the raw emotion of the betrayals and twists in a fragmented retelling with rapid scene breaks, thoughts cut off mid-sentence and unexpected shifts from prose to poetry. John Wiswell, People.com, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for short story

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of short story was in 1861

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Cite this Entry

“Short story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short%20story. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

short story

noun
: a short work of fiction usually dealing with a few characters and a single event

More from Merriam-Webster on short story

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