short

/ʃoːt//ʃɔːt//ʃɔɹt/

noun

  1. 1

    A short circuit.

  2. 2

    A short film.

  3. 3

    A short version of a garment in a particular size.

    38 short suits fit me right off the rack.
  4. 4

    A shortstop.

    Jones smashes a grounder between third and short.
  5. 5

    A short seller.

    The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne.
  6. 6

    A short sale.

    He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months.
  7. 7

    A summary account.

  8. 8

    A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

  9. 9

    An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.

  10. 10

    An automobile; especially in crack shorts, to break into automobiles.

verb

  1. 1

    To cause a short circuit in (something).

  2. 2

    Of an electrical circuit, to short circuit.

  3. 3

    To shortchange.

  4. 4

    To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount.

    This is the third time I’ve caught them shorting us.
  5. 5

    To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short.

  6. 6

    To shorten.

adjective

  1. 1

    Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.

  2. 2

    (of a person) Of comparatively small height.

  3. 3

    Having little duration.

    Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it’s been at least twenty minutes long.
  4. 4

    (followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).

    “Phone” is short for “telephone” and "asap" short for "as soon as possible".
  5. 5

    (of a fielder or fielding position) that is relatively close to the batsman.

  6. 6

    (of a ball) that bounced relatively far from the batsman.

  7. 7

    (of an approach shot or putt) that falls short of the green or the hole.

  8. 8

    (of pastries) Brittle, crumbly, especially due to the use of a large quantity of fat. (See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust, shortening.)

  9. 9

    Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant.

    He gave a short answer to the question.
  10. 10

    Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.

    a short supply of provisions
  11. 11

    Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking.

    I'd lend you the cash but I'm a little short at present.
  12. 12

    Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.

    an account which is short of the truth
  13. 13

    Undiluted; neat.

  14. 14

    Not distant in time; near at hand.

  15. 15

    Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.

    I'm short General Motors because I think their sales are plunging.

adverb

  1. 1

    Abruptly, curtly, briefly.

    He cut me short repeatedly in the meeting.
  2. 2

    Unawares.

    The recent developments at work caught them short.
  3. 3

    Without achieving a goal or requirement.

    His speech fell short of what was expected.
  4. 4

    (of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball) Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.

  5. 5

    With a negative ownership position.

    We went short most finance companies in July.

preposition

  1. 1

    Deficient in.

    He's short common sense.
  2. 2

    Having a negative position in.

    I don’t want to be short the market going into the weekend.

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