short

I UK [ʃɔː(r)t] / US [ʃɔrt] adjective
Word forms "short":
adjective short comparative shorter superlative shortest
***

1)

a) measuring a small height, length, or distance

She's short and slim, with light brown hair and blue eyes.

You'll need three short boards for the shelves.

The theatre is a relatively short distance from here.

b) not long enough, or not tall enough

The fence posts are all six inches short.

The sleeves are much too short.

2) a period of time that is short does not last very long or seems to pass quickly

a short while:

He was here for a short while last week.

a short period/spell:

After a short period living in London, she moved back to Glasgow.

a short stay:

I'm sorry this has been such a short stay.

a few short hours/days/weeks:

In a few short weeks he'll be going back to school.

3) expressed in few words, or containing few pages

Could you give us a short summary of what happened?

a short article/book/poem:

It was a short book and she read it in one night.

4) using fewer words or letters than the full form of something

short for:

Memo is short for memorandum.

for short:

My name is Elizabeth, or Liz for short.

5)

a) used for saying that you do not have enough of something

Have you got any change on you? I'm £20 short (= I have £20 less than I need).

We're one waitress short tonight, so everyone will have to work harder.

short on:

He's very bright but a little short on personality.

short of:

They were three short of a majority, so the vote wasn't passed.

short of money/food/clothing:

Many of our clients are short of money.

b) if something is short or in short supply, there is not enough of it or it is not easy to get

Dad wasn't working and money was short.

Skilled workers are in short supply around here.

6) if you have a short memory, you are not able or willing to remember things that happened recently

7) rude and unfriendly when speaking to someone

She's very busy and can be a little short at times.

8) linguistics a short vowel or syllable is one that you pronounce quickly

•

draw/get the short straw — to be the person in a group who has to do an unpleasant or difficult job

I drew the short straw and had to stay late.

in the short run/term — during the period of time that is not very far into the future

The policy served him well in the short term but later backfired.

in/within a short space of time — before much time has passed

In a short space of time he was promoted from sales rep to area manager.

- at short notice

- in short order

- short and sweet

- short of breath

See:

work II

II UK [ʃɔː(r)t] / US [ʃɔrt] adverb
Word forms "short":
comparative shorter superlative shortest
***

without reaching a particular place or position

short of:

The plane came down just short of the runway.

You should aim a few inches short (= in front) of your target.

•

go short (of something) — British to have less than you need of something such as food, clothing, or shelter

As long as I have a job my children will never go short.

They were very poor and often went short of food.

nothing/little short of something — used for saying how extreme a situation is

The whole evening was little short of a complete disaster.

nothing short of a miracle:

Nothing short of a miracle can save us now.

run short (of something) — used for saying that you have used almost all of a particular thing and there is not much left

Supplies were running short as winter came on.

The party had just begun and we were already running short of beer.

- be caught short

- short of something

See:

cut I, cut I, fall I, stop I, bring up 5)

III UK [ʃɔː(r)t] / US [ʃɔrt] noun
Word forms "short":
singular short plural shorts
*

1) [countable] British a strong alcoholic drink served in small amounts

2) [countable] cinema informal a film that lasts only a few minutes, sometimes shown at a cinema before the main film

3) [countable] physics a short circuit

4) [countable/uncountable] a clothing size for a short person, or a piece of clothing of this size

•

- in short

IV UK [ʃɔː(r)t] / US [ʃɔrt] verb [intransitive/transitive]
Word forms "short":
present tense I/you/we/they short he/she/it shorts present participle shorting past tense shorted past participle shorted

short or short out to short-circuit, or to make something do this

I think the lamp has shorted.