1Measuring a small distance from end to end.

1. 1.1 (of a journey) covering a small distance.
   the hotel is a short walk from the sea

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Hannah had been with friends at pubs in Bevois Valley before she was abducted on the short walk home on Friday, March 14.
   • Mrs Gallagher was punched and robbed in a daytime attack just a short walk from her home at a sheltered housing complex in Undercliffe.
   • And the River Aire, just a short walk from his Carleton home, flowed through his life as a constant companion.
   • With the kids packed off to relatives, I took the short journey down the road to the Battle Hospital.
   • There are many options to choose from including many only a short walk or ride from the gaming tables.
   • Cortez made the short walk to the feverish scrum in McBride's corner and raised the Irishman's right arm in victory.
   • They make the short journey to Ossett Town and a meeting with their former manager Steve Richards.
   • A short walk, which was perfumed by wood-smoke, led us to a small clearing where the charcoal burner was situated.
   • This is not a problem on short journeys but on a long haul it can literally become a pain in the neck.
   • For as much as I enjoyed my short walk along the river day before yesterday, I really paid for it.
   • I thought I will have a short walk with the dog and go to the chemist before settling down for the rest of the day at home as I had not spent any time with the sickie.
   • Then it was time for a short walk over to the Arc de Triomphe without my camera and then back to the room for another nap!
   • I was put up at a villa that stood on stilts in the sea and which required a short journey by boat to reach from the main resort itself.
   • They had managed to brave the strong winds and to make the short journey down Main Street on foot.
   • From the Roemer it's only a short walk to the banks of the Main River.
   • Now hardly anybody works on Saturday mornings and cars and buses are freely available to make the short journey to Ibrox or Parkhead.
   • It's such a short journey to Germany that the tournament could almost feel like a home event to the Czechs.
   • Entry into the rear is not too difficult either and there is room enough for adults - if only on short journeys.
   • WE ARE SITTING in a restaurant a short walk from the bookstore and I have just read him the extract above.
   • Another night, on the short walk home, he became disoriented and lost, and eventually found himself in an endless tunnel.
2. 1.2 (of a garment or sleeves on a garment) only covering the top part of a person's arms or legs.
   a short skirt

   Example sentencesExamples

   • At the prescription counter, there was a pregnant lady in front of me, in a short dress.
   • In all but the coldest months, she went about in sleeveless blouses and short skirts.
   • Knee-length skirts and slightly shorter ones were also combined with short coats.
   • Wrapping her arms about her, Jenni cursed her choice of a skirt and short sleeves.
   • Women attending university are told at the gate that their skirts are too short, or asked why they are wearing jeans.
   • It's about short skirts, pretty ponytails and staying feminine, if you please.
   • She wore a flimsy white cotton dress with short sleeves, a pink sash about the waist, and a skirt that blew in the wind.
   • She was never associated with skimpy bathing suits, low cut gowns and short dresses.
   • Next on the ramp, was a model wearing a short skirt and top, all woven in silk.
   • Only now they were incongruously dressed in sheepskin jackets and short skirts.
   • The little man with the gloves and short sleeves had no sooner orchestrated something at one end than he was thwarting his opponents at the other.
   • When I wore my shirt with its short sleeves you could see the scars on my wrist.
   • Sleeveless tops and short skirts make it impossible to hide from the prying eyes of children.
   • Most college girls know they do not have nice legs and keep away from short skirts.
   • The man is described as 25, white, wearing a white polo shirt with short sleeves and navy shorts down to his knees.
   • As the passengers disembarked Toad noticed a hot young woman in a short skirt and leather jacket.
   • Seiron wore black dress pants, a white shirt with short sleeves and both wore black boots to match.
   • Lollipop ladies were warned yesterday that they must not wear short skirts and high heels while on duty.
   • His shirt had short sleeves, exposing pale, wiry arms, but he showed no sign of being cold.
   • She wore the short skirts and skimpy clothing that people like that would wear.
3. 1.3 (of a person) small in height.
   he is short and tubby

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He was short and stocky, maybe ten years older than Jeremy, with a brown brush-cut.
   • I stand behind a short woman who was behind a tall woman and husband.
   • After all, if the desk is higher, a short person can always get a booster seat.
   • The artistic director Wolfgang Langhoff once sat at this desk, a short man.
   • Usually, the person at the helm gaffs the trap, but I'm rather short so I decide to just steer.
   • My mother was quite short in stature, she had been an orphan, and my cousin Vera considered her very beautiful.
   • Now he's the short bloke with a few million in the bank, a shelf full of Baftas and Golden Globes, and a reputation as a comic genius.
   • She's short and petite, with dimples in her smile and her hair in small little buns.
   • He is cute, tall (remember the run of short guys) and witty so we will see how that goes.
   • You have to imagine a tiny, thin, short fellow with a white beard and bald head.
   • He is short, bespectacled, narrow-shouldered, a big talent in a Woody Allen-esque package.
   • We will recruit thousands more police, especially among ethnic minorities and short people.
   • So yesterday, before going out to Popstarz with Gideon, Nick and Davo, I sent Davo a link to an article about short men.
   • She is short and petite in frame - a trait she inherited from her Japanese mother.
   • You were very tall - looming at least a chest and head above me, and I'm not short.
   • You can imagine my utter disbelief then, when the cab turned up and turned out to be driven by a grey-haired, short man of about fifty years of age.
   • I wanted to join the police when I was younger but I was too short.
   • Like his brother Larry, Michael was also short and skinny when he was young.
   • One was a short man with bushy eyebrows, another looked like a corpse and, oddly, the third was a man in fishnets.
   • I am tired of short people who can't see over the steering wheel driving large cars.

   Synonyms

   small, little, petite, tiny, squat, stocky, dumpy, stubby, elfin, dwarfish, diminutive, Lilliputian

   Scottish wee

   informal pint-sized, teeny, teeny-weeny, pocket-sized, knee-high to a grasshopper

   British informal fubsy
4. 1.4 (of a ball in cricket, a shot in tennis, etc.) travelling only a small distance before bouncing.
   he uses his opportunities to attack every short ball

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Bevan was said to have a weakness against the short ball and was restricted to playing limited overs cricket.
   • Two of them came in Kirby's first over and both were dispatched to the boundary, along with a short ball which was pulled to the fence.
   • I was putting away the short ball, hitting the forehands well and not missing anything on the backhand.
   • Bangladesh also showed that they have learned in other areas, notably how to play the short ball.
   • Net-cords don't count, neither do drop shots, nor do approaches to finish short lobs.
5. 1.5Cricket Denoting fielding positions relatively close to the batsman.
   short midwicket

   Example sentencesExamples

   • However, McIntyre quickly took revenge to have the batsman caught at short mid-wicket by Love.
   • Prince was put down twice, by Lara at slip and Marshall at short mid-wicket early on.
   • Blowers's theoretical confusion at which Dwayne might be fielding at short leg is entirely understandable.
   • I was fielding at short leg and had the best seat in the house.
   • The big-hitting Justin Kemp ran himself out on 18 as Boje did some fine fielding from short cover.

2Lasting or taking a small amount of time.

1. 2.1attributive Seeming to last less time than is the case; passing quickly.
   in 10 short years all this changed

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The book only covered a short ten years of my life and stopped when I was eighteen.
   • But a few short years later, into your second or third job, you take a car loan.
   • Now you have only a few short weeks to get lean and gorgeous for the camera.
   • A few short hours earlier, something like a miracle obviously had occurred.
   • Using these skills Milka has advanced to this world-class level in an amazingly short five years.
   • That would have been seen, in our view, as a betrayal of the promise we gave people at the election only a few short weeks earlier.
   • Two short years was enough to take me from imagining what it must be like to be that person, to actually being that person!
   • In a few short minutes the two warriors were fleeing the capitol city of Elon.
   • The cake was a replica of the old school where Catherine taught for all those years and which closed only a few short months ago.
   • I noticed how much has changed over these 10 short years, cinema prices, for instance.
   • As a disclaimer, I am a Christian of over slightly more than one short year and am no expert.
   • Rodeo cowboys drive for hours, even days, to ride for eight short seconds and then drive home.
   • For a short afternoon back in early January Harry Redknapp was reminded of life at the top.
   • I smiled in spite of myself, because I knew that that had been me just a few short years earlier.
   • Four short years is not enough to turn around the social deficit that National created.
   • I have seen far too many people give up too quickly on their programs after a few short weeks.
   • In just a few short minutes she would be getting her first assignment.
2. 2.2 (of a person's memory) retaining things for only a small amount of time.
   he has a short memory for past misdeeds

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He tells us we all have short memories and that traffic is no worse.
   • Some people might have very short memories but there are others on this side of the House who have very long memories.
   • The first lesson of politics is that many memories are short - but, fortunately, not yet too many.
   • Investors, institutional and retail, have famously short memories.
   • But in Ireland coalition crises come and go, and the electorate proves to have a short memory.
   • Yet those who might write off the Commonwealth and European medallist have short memories.
   • People have short memories and will not associate the newly named hotel with the disaster.
   • People in this part of the world have short memories and one perceived bad move could ruin years of hard work.
   • Rushing to one side of the proscenium arch, rebounding and running back to the other, they are like a shoal of fish with short memories.
   • The mandarins of the Ministry of Defence have hard necks and short memories.
   • Those who have damned Woods's second consecutive Masters win as dull have short memory spans.
   • The trouble with Mr Saunders is that he has a very short and selective memory.
   • Domestic issues are dominating in the hope the electorate have short memories and limited concentration.
   • Memories are short and unless the media or Opposition pick up on it, the government's failure will go largely unnoticed.
   • The deputy either has a very short memory or is suffering from political amnesia.
   • You look back at the last two or three years, you have a short memory, so you think it will always be thus.
   • Only those who are blessed with short memories can believe that the history of ideas is a tale of progress.
   • A few beers and a short memory can drive away the day's problems, so the thinking goes.
   • I always think that folk who say they prefer winter to summer are either lying or have short memories.
   • It is not just the public but also the commentators' memories that are short.
3. 2.3Stock Market (of stocks or other securities or commodities) sold in advance of being acquired, with reliance on the price falling so that a profit can be made.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Speculators have no firm commitment to the long or the short side of the market.
   • The effect was to throw prices and expectations into chaos when stocks were short.
4. 2.4Stock Market (of a broker, position in the market, etc.) buying or based on short stocks or other securities or commodities.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Take short positions with caution until the market reverts back to bull confirmed.
   • If a short squeeze occurs and enough short sellers buy back the stock, the price could go even higher.
   • Shorters or short sellers are traders who sell shares that they don't already own.
   • In other words, you need two long call options to hedge one short futures contract.
   • Unlike other investors, he can establish either long or short positions in securities.
5. 2.5 Denoting or having a relatively early date for the maturing of a bill of exchange.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • It is unusual because of the falling interest rate environment during most of the period, at least for short bonds, followed by a leveling off and slight rise in the last few months.

3Relatively small in extent.

1. 3.1short of/on Not having enough of (something); lacking or deficient in.
   they were very short of provisions

   I know you're short on cash

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Mulberry was a little short on heritage; worse still, it was bereft of excitement.
   • Two of the main ingredients in this are sugar and refined flour, both of which are seriously short on nutrients.
   • Was it a ruse to allow reporters short on subject matter to fill the pages dedicated to the European Championship?
   • Newer outfits can also face potential conflicts of interest, or at least be short on quality.
   • The Prime Minister's speech was short on any vision that addressed those matters.
   • What the South African world number four will be short on is the level of confidence achieved only through winning.
   • However, whatever the visitors were lacking they will never be short on pride and spirit.
   • We have not gotten off that, which is why we're short on equipment and personnel and training.
   • Coming off four heavy defeats on the bounce, his charges looked lamentably short on confidence.
   • Reading a book of plays is another great way to get some reading in when you're short on time.
   • The students are long on facts and short on the reflection and analysis that comes with experience.
   • They were short on information, but all said Deane had resigned from the OPP.
   • If you're short on time and desperately in need of a one-stop option for all of your green needs, you're in luck.
   • With the retirement of Istabraq we are short on stars but this lady could soon be a darling with racegoers everywhere.
   • They may be strong on physical prowess, but a little short on the professional side.
   • Armed with a booming drive, he is not short on confidence, and it is more than his golf that will help him to stand out.
   • It was the same Government which made a plea to the Supreme Court that the scheme could not be run as they were short on money!
   • Is this someone's way of telling us we're short on our annual allotment of carrots?
   • True, the braised fennel was a bit crunchy and the leek and bacon risotto with which it was stuffed was a bit short on leek and bacon, but it was pretty nice.
   • The book is somewhat short on hard evidence, yet Davies says he has no doubt about the truth of the revelations.

   Synonyms

   deficient in, lacking (in), wanting (in), in need of, low on, short on, missing, with an insufficiency of, with too few/little …

   informal strapped for, pushed for, minus
2. 3.2predicative In insufficient supply.
   food is short

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Val's food supply was going on short, she would have thanked him, but instead silently did so.
   • He added that there is a short supply of trained diabeticians.
   • At the moment England are strong on hounds but a little short in the fox department.
   • Supplies were so short that the Japanese resorted to cannibalism, eating the flesh of prisoners and their own troops.
   • Six days after Tropical Storm Jeanne hit the island, water and food supplies are short.
   • Similarly, for the first time in years, the short supply of mechanics appears not so dire.
   • It worked out - money was short, but just enough to keep the apartment and pay the bills.
   • As food and water became scarce, they were the first that society wanted to exterminate in order to preserve their short supply.
   • The co-operative's arable manager, Phil Rees, warned that supplies could be very short next spring.
   • Pigs are the one bright spot on the horizon but supplies are short.
   • There is already a short supply in some trades, especially those skilled trades such as bricklayers.
   • But if time is short it comes back to the question of direct access.
   • Work out arrangements in advance with other farmers to help you out when your supplies are short.
   • But most of that annual generation will be in summer when power is not short.
   • I don't mind pitching in a situation where staffing is short, supplies are scarce, morale is low.
   • The short supply of tomatoes means prices are higher, too, which means there's less demand.
   • However, the pain lasted only as long as his short supply of breath could keep him alive.
   • Animals like this only come into the open when the natural food supply is short.
   • The matriarch shrugged her shoulders and said that supplies were short.
   • They reward bravery and commitment - something never short with Simon.

   Synonyms

   scarce, in short supply, scant, scanty, meagre, sparse, hard to find, hard to come by, not enough, too little, insufficient, deficient, inadequate, lacking, wanting

   at a premium, like gold dust, not to be had, scarcer than hen's teeth

   paltry, negligible, thin

   informal not to be had for love nor money

   rare exiguous

4Phonetics
(of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel /ʊ/ in good is short as distinct from the long vowel /uː/ in food).

1. 4.1Prosody (of a vowel or syllable) having the lesser of the two recognized durations.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Many local accents are marked by a rhythm that tends to lengthen stressed vowels and to reduce or eliminate unstressed short vowels.
   • It can occur in syllable coda position, but only after a short vowel.
   • A trochee is a metrical foot of two syllables, the first long and the second short.
   • We have alternately one long or forcible syllable, and two short or light ones, recurring over and over.

5predicative (of a person) terse; uncivil.

6(of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability.

7(of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.

1. 7.1 (of clay) having poor plasticity.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • A short clay will not bend well and tends to break instead of forming when bent.

1(chiefly in sport) at, to, or over a relatively small distance.

1. 1.1 Not as far as the point aimed at; not far enough.
   all too often you pitch the ball short

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Macalester fought hard to come back and fell just one run short in the end.
   • Mightily impressive it may be, but the Continental falls just short.
   • When he did find an inch of space, John Hartson's return pass fell lamely short.
   • Sure enough, I came up 15 yards short and right, and with a bunker between me and the flag which could not have been in a tighter spot.
   • The ease of the try was ominous, as was Joe Vagana's first-minute break that ended inches short.
   • Instead, we end up making an ugly pass at the ball and almost always leave it two or three feet short.
   • They had fallen spectacularly short at Euro 2004, eliminated in the first round.
   • He does tend to hit a lot of balls short, which allowed me to move up in the court and attack.
   • The trouble is that his natural delivery is just back of a length and if he is not in the groove, he pitches too short and the batsmen cash in.
   • His party had come a long way towards defeating a wartime president only to fall agonisingly short.
   • Anderson comes close to masterpiece territory here, but falls frustratingly short.
   • Langley was cut down three metres short by Emelio but the Kiwi held him down in the tackle and was dispatched to the sin bin by referee Ian Smith.
   • Today, they are playing away from the body when the ball is pitched short.
   • Paul Walsh sent in a high ball which dropped short to Peter Walsh on the edge of the square.
   • Westwood's chip was not perfect and just trickled onto the green seven feet short.
   • He used all his strength to make one final grasp at redemption but still falls quite short.
   • Twice GHA opted to kick at goal but both efforts by Noonan fell pitifully short.
   • Diving to score a try against the Ospreys but stopping dead three inches short and the ball popping out: no try.
   • A circular motion shows a hit, straight up means the arrow went long, straight down means it went short, etc.
   • That's a big ask, and Boyd falls critically short, and so the whole thing is quite comical.

1British A drink of spirits served in a small measure.

2A short film as opposed to a feature film.

3A short sound such as a short signal in Morse code or a short vowel or syllable.

4A short circuit.

5Stock Market
A person who sells short.

1. 5.1shorts Short-dated stocks.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • A bullish divergence issues a signal to cover your shorts and prepare to enter into a long position.
   • He's right too about the Commercials putting out more shorts on a price rise.

6shortsA mixture of bran and coarse flour.

1Short-circuit or cause to short-circuit.

2Stock Market
with object Sell (stocks or other securities or commodities) in advance of acquiring them, with the aim of making a profit when the price falls.