shorten

short·en

S0363300 (shôr′tn)v. short·ened, short·en·ing, short·ens v.tr.1. To make short or shorter.2. To reduce in force, efficacy, or intensity.3. To add shortening to (dough) so as to make flaky.4. Nautical To take in (a sail, sails, or part of a sail) so that less canvas is exposed to the wind, thereby reducing speed: shortened sail in advance of the storm.v.intr. To become short or shorter.

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short′en·er n.Synonyms: shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail, truncate
These verbs mean to reduce something in length, duration, or extent: shortened his life by smoking; abbreviated the speech for the television news show; abridged the book as an essay; curtailed their visit by a week; truncated the conversation by saying goodbye.Antonym: lengthen

shorten

(ˈʃɔːtən) vb1. to make or become short or shorter2. (Nautical Terms) (tr) nautical to reduce the area of (sail)3. (Cookery) (tr) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat4. (Gambling, except Cards) gambling to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less ˈshortener n

short•en

(ˈʃɔr tn)

v.t. 1. to make short or shorter. 2. to reduce, decrease, take in, etc.: to shorten sail. 3. to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat. v.i. 4. to become short or shorter. 5. (of odds) to decrease. [1425–75] short′en•er, n. syn: 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; to shorten a prison sentence. The other three terms suggest methods of shortening. abbreviate usu. means to shorten a word or group of words, as by omission of letters: to abbreviate a name. To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like: to abridge a document. curtail suggests a lack of completeness due to the omission of some part: to curtail an explanation.

shorten

Past participle: shortened
Gerund: shortening

Imperative
shorten
shorten

Present
I shorten
you shorten
he/she/it shortens
we shorten
you shorten
they shorten

Preterite
I shortened
you shortened
he/she/it shortened
we shortened
you shortened
they shortened

Present Continuous
I am shortening
you are shortening
he/she/it is shortening
we are shortening
you are shortening
they are shortening

Present Perfect
I have shortened
you have shortened
he/she/it has shortened
we have shortened
you have shortened
they have shortened

Past Continuous
I was shortening
you were shortening
he/she/it was shortening
we were shortening
you were shortening
they were shortening

Past Perfect
I had shortened
you had shortened
he/she/it had shortened
we had shortened
you had shortened
they had shortened

Future
I will shorten
you will shorten
he/she/it will shorten
we will shorten
you will shorten
they will shorten

Future Perfect
I will have shortened
you will have shortened
he/she/it will have shortened
we will have shortened
you will have shortened
they will have shortened

Future Continuous
I will be shortening
you will be shortening
he/she/it will be shortening
we will be shortening
you will be shortening
they will be shortening

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been shortening
you have been shortening
he/she/it has been shortening
we have been shortening
you have been shortening
they have been shortening

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been shortening
you will have been shortening
he/she/it will have been shortening
we will have been shortening
you will have been shortening
they will have been shortening

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been shortening
you had been shortening
he/she/it had been shortening
we had been shortening
you had been shortening
they had been shortening

Conditional
I would shorten
you would shorten
he/she/it would shorten
we would shorten
you would shorten
they would shorten

Past Conditional
I would have shortened
you would have shortened
he/she/it would have shortened
we would have shortened
you would have shortened
they would have shortened

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	shorten - make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration; "He shortened his trip due to illness"foreshorten - shorten lines in a drawing so as to create an illusion of depthcurtail, cut short, clip - terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent; "My speech was cut short"; "Personal freedom is curtailed in many countries"syncopate - omit a sound or letter in a word; "syncopate a word"cut short, truncate - make shorter as if by cutting off; "truncate a word"; "Erosion has truncated the ridges of the mountains"cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits"lengthen - make longer; "Lengthen this skirt, please"
	2.	shorten - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"abbreviate, abridge, foreshorten, contract, reduce, cutbowdlerise, bowdlerize, expurgate, castrate, shorten - edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel"edit out, edit, cut - cut and assemble the components of; "edit film"; "cut recording tape"condense, concentrate, digest - make more concise; "condense the contents of a book into a summary"minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"
	3.	shorten - make short or shorter; "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the rope by a few inches"alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"cut - shorten as if by severing the edges or ends of; "cut my hair"
	4.	shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten"decrease, diminish, lessen, fall - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"lengthen - become long or longer; "In Spring, the days lengthen"
	5.	shorten - edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel"bowdlerise, bowdlerize, expurgate, castrateabbreviate, abridge, foreshorten, shorten, contract, reduce, cut - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"

shorten

verb1. cut, reduce, decrease, cut down, trim, diminish, dock, cut back, prune, lessen, curtail, abbreviate, truncate, abridge, downsize The day surgery will help to shorten waiting lists.
cut increase, extend, expand, prolong, stretch, lengthen, draw out, spin out, elongate, make longer, protract2. turn up, trim It's a simple matter to shorten trouser legs.3. get shorter, contract, diminish, dwindle, shrink When the days shorten, some people suffer from depression.

shorten

verbTo make short or shorter the duration or extent of:abbreviate, abridge, condense, curtail, reduce.

Translations

弄短缩短

short

(ʃoːt) adjective1. not long. You look nice with your hair short; Do you think my dress is too short? 短的 短的2. not tall; smaller than usual. a short man. 矮的 矮的3. not lasting long; brief. a short film; in a very short time; I've a very short memory for details. 短暫的 短暂的4. not as much as it should be. When I checked my change, I found it was 20 cents short. 短少的 短少的5. (with of) not having enough (money etc). Most of us are short of money these days. 缺少的 缺少的6. (of pastry) made so that it is crisp and crumbles easily. 脆的 脆的 adverb1. suddenly; abruptly. He stopped short when he saw me. 突然地，猛然 突然，急忙 2. not as far as intended. The shot fell short. 未達目標 达不到预想程度地ˈshortness noun 短，矮 短，矮 ˈshortage (-tidʒ) noun a lack; the state of not having enough. a shortage of water. 缺少 缺少ˈshorten verb to make or become shorter. The dress is too long – we'll have to shorten it. 弄短，變短 弄短，缩短 ˈshortening noun (especially American) the fat used for making pastry. (尤在美國)製作糕點時所使用的油脂 食用油脂（酥油/雪白奶油） ˈshortly adverb soon. He will be here shortly; Shortly after that, the police arrived. 不久 不久，即刻 shorts noun plural short trousers for men or women. 短褲 短裤ˈshortbread noun a kind of crisp, crumbling biscuit. 奶油酥餅 奶油脆饼ˌshort-ˈchange verb to cheat (a buyer) by giving him too little change. 少找零錢欺騙客人 故意少找给顾客零头short circuit the missing out by an electric current of a part of an electrical circuit (verb ˌshort-ˈcircuit) 短路 短路ˈshortcoming noun a fault. 缺點 缺点ˈshortcut noun a quicker way between two places. I'm in a hurry – I'll take a shortcut across the field. 捷徑 近路，捷径 ˈshorthand noun a method of writing rapidly, using strokes, dots etc to represent sounds. 速記 速记ˌshort-ˈhanded adjective having fewer workers than are necessary or usual. 缺乏人手的 缺乏人��的 ˈshort-list noun a list of candidates selected from the total number of applicants for a job etc. 決選名單 决选名单 verb to put on a short-list. We've short-listed three of the twenty applicants. 列入決選名單 列入决选名单ˌshort-ˈlived (-ˈlivd) , ((American) -ˈlaivd) adjective living or lasting only for a short time. short-lived insects; short-lived enthusiasm. 短命的 短命的ˌshort-ˈrange adjective1. not reaching a long distance. short-range missiles. 短程的 短程的2. not covering a long time. a short-range weather forecast. 近期的 近期的ˌshort-ˈsighted adjective seeing clearly only things that are near. I don't recognize people at a distance because I'm short-sighted. 近視的，短視的 近视的，目光短浅的 ˌshort-ˈsightedly adverb 近視地，短視地 近视地，目光短浅地 ˌshort-ˈsightedness noun 近視，短視 近视，目光短浅 ˌshort-ˈtempered adjective easily made angry. My husband is very short-tempered in the mornings. 易怒的 脾气坏的，易怒的 ˌshort-ˈterm adjective1. concerned only with the near future. short-term plans. 短暫的 短期的2. lasting only a short time. a short-term loan. 短期的 短期延续的by a short head by a very small amount. to win by a short head. 少量的，小幅度的 小胜for short as an abbreviation. His name is Victor, but we call him Vic for short. 簡稱(或簡寫)為... 简称（或简写）为... go short to cause oneself not to have enough of something. Save this carton for tomorrow, or else we'll go short (of milk). 使...缺少 缺少in short in a few words. 總之 简而言之，总之 in short supply not available in sufficient quantity. Fresh vegetables are in short supply. 供應不足，缺乏的 供应不足make short work of to dispose of very quickly. The children made short work of the ice-cream. 迅速解決 迅速处置某事run short1. (of a supply) to become insufficient. Our money is running short. 變缺(少的) 快用完了，不够 2. (with of) not to have enough. We're running short of money. 缺少 缺少short and sweetHis reply was short and sweet: `Get out!' he shouted. 簡短扼要 简短扼要short for an abbreviation of. `Phone' is short for `telephone'; What is `Ltd.' short for? 是...的略語,簡稱 是…的缩写，简写 short of not as far as or as much as. Our total came to just short of $1,000; We stopped five miles short of London. 缺乏，不足 缺少，差一点