short commons (informal)

Meagre rations

the common

That which is common or usual

the common good

1. The interest of the community at large
2. The property of a former Scottish royal burgh which is not raised by tax nor held by special act of parliament

the common people

The people in general

the common touch

The ability to empathize with ordinary people

short /shört/

adjective

1. Of little length, tallness, extent, or duration
2. In the early future (as short day, date)
3. Concise
4. Curt or abrupt
5. Snappish
6. (of pastry, etc) crisp yet readily crumbling
7. On the near side
8. (of memory) not retentive
9. Failing to go far enough or reach the standard or level required
10. Deficient
11. Lacking (in)
12. Scanty, in inadequate supply
13. In default
14. Unable to meet engagements
15. Relating to the sale of what one cannot supply
16. Not being in possession of shares, etc at the time of sale in anticipation of a fall in prices before their delivery date (finance)
17. (of a vowel sound) being the briefer of two possible lengths of vowel (phonetics)
18. In accentual verse, loosely, unaccented (prosody)
19. (of an alcoholic drink) undiluted with water, neat (informal)
20. Having short wool
21. (of glass) fast-setting
22. (of metal) brittle (mining)
23. (of certain fielding positions) relatively near the batsman (cricket)
24. (of a bowled ball) bouncing at some distance from the batsman (cricket)

adverb

1. Briefly
2. Abruptly
3. Curtly
4. Without leaving a stump
5. On this or the near side
6. At a disadvantage (eg taken short)
7. See sell short under sell¹

noun

1. That which is short
2. Shortness, abbreviation, summary
3. A short circuit
4. (in pl) short trousers (ie thigh- or knee-length, as opposed to ankle-length)
5. (in pl) undershorts (US)
6. (in pl) the bran and coarse part of meal, in mixture
7. (in pl) short-dated securities
8. Someone who sells short (stock exchange)
9. A short film subordinate to a main film in a programme
10. A drink of spirits (informal)
11. (in pl) a deficiency (N American)

transitive verb

To short-change

transitive verb and intransitive verb

1. To shorten (obsolete)
2. To short-circuit
3. To fall short of, or perhaps cause to fail (archaic)

shortˈage noun

A lack, deficiency

shortˈen transitive verb

1. To make shorter
2. To make to seem short or to fall short
3. To draw in or back
4. To check
5. To make friable (by adding butter, lard, etc)
6. To put (a baby) in short clothes (old)

intransitive verb

To become shorter

shortˈener noun

shortˈening noun

1. Making or becoming shorter
2. Fat for making pastry short

shortˈie or shortˈy noun (informal)

A very short person, garment, etc (also adjective)

shortˈish adjective

shortˈly adverb

1. Soon
2. Briefly
3. Curtly
4. For a short time (rare)
5. A little
6. With shortness in that which is indicated

shortˈness noun

shortˈ-acting adjective

(of a drug) having effects that wear off quickly

shortˈarm adjective (boxing, etc; of a blow)

Using a bent (rather than extended) arm

shortˈarse noun (derog sl)

A small person

shortˈbread noun

A brittle crumbling biscuit of flour, butter and sugar

shortˈcake noun

1. Shortbread or other friable cake
2. A light cake, prepared in layers with fruit between, served with cream (orig N American)

short-changeˈ transitive verb

1. To give less than the correct change to
2. To deal dishonestly with (a person)

adjective

Relating to cheating

short-chanˈger noun

short circuit noun

1. A new and unwanted path of comparatively low resistance accidentally created between two points of a circuit, often causing damage to components (elec)
2. An artificial connection between two normally separate tubular organs or parts (surgery)

short-cirˈcuit transitive verb

1. To establish a short circuit in
2. To interconnect where there was obstruction between (surgery)
3. To provide with a short cut (figurative)

intransitive verb

1. To cut off current by a short circuit
2. To save a roundabout passage

short clothes or short coats plural noun

Formerly, the shortened skirts of a child when the first long clothes are left off

shortˈ-coat transitive verb (old)

To put into short coats

shortˈcoming noun

1. The circumstance of coming or falling short
2. A neglect of, or failure in, duty
3. A defect, failing

short commons plural noun

Minimum rations

shortˈ-cord adjective (elec eng)

(of an armature winding) employing coils whose span is less than the pole pitch

short corner noun (hockey)

Same as penalty corner (see under penalty)

short covering noun (stock exchange)

1. The buying of securities, etc, to cover a short sale
2. The securities, etc, bought for this purpose

shortˈcrust adjective

(of pastry) short

short cut noun

A shorter route than the usual (also figurative)

shortˈ-cut intransitive verb

To use a shorter route (also figurative)

adjective and noun

(denoting) tobacco cut in short shreds

shortˈ-dāted adjective

1. (of a bill) having little time to run from its date
2. (of securities) redeemable in under five years

short-day plant noun (botany)

One that will flower only if the daily period of light is shorter than some critical length (cf day-neutral plant, long-day plant)

short division noun

Division without writing down the working out

shortˈfall noun

The fact or amount of falling short

short fuse noun (informal)

A quick temper

short game noun (golf)

Play on and around the green(s)

shortˈgown noun (old Scot)

A woman's short jacket

shortˈhand noun

1. A system of writing in which whole words and phrases are represented by (combinations of) simple strokes, used for recording speech at speaking pace
2. Writing of such a kind

adjective

Relating to or written in shorthand

short-handˈed adjective

1. Short of an adequate number of workers
2. With a small or reduced number on the team, in the crew, etc

shortˈ-haul adjective

Involving transportation, etc, over (relatively) short distances

shortˈ-head transitive verb (informal)

To beat by a short head (see also below)

shortˈhold adjective (law)

In England and Wales, of or being a tenancy of only a few (orig between one and five) years

shortˈhorn noun

Any of the various types of beef and dairy cattle developed from a short-horned breed originating in NE England, usu having a red and white, roan or white coat (also called Durham)

short hundredweight see hundredweight under hundred

short iron noun (golf)

An iron club used to play shots from close to the green

short leg noun (cricket)

A fielder, or a fielding position, very near (and in line with) the batsman on the legside

shortˈ-life adjective

Having a short duration, existence, etc

shortˈlist noun

(see also leet³) a list of the most suitable candidates for an office, post, etc, from which the successful candidate will be selected

transitive verb

To include (someone) in a shortlist

shortˈ-lived (or /-līvd/) adjective

Living or lasting only for a short time

short measure noun

Less than the amount promised or paid for

short metre noun (poetry)

A form of four-line stanza of which the first, second and last lines have six syllables and the third line eight

short odds plural noun

(in betting) a nearly even chance, favourable odds in terms of risk, unfavourable in terms of potential gain

short-oil see oil length under oil

short order noun (N American)

(an order for) food that can be prepared quickly

shortˈ-order adjective

shortˈ-priced adjective

Having short odds

shortˈ-range adjective

Of or relating to a short distance or period of time

short rib noun

A floating rib

short sale noun

A sale of something which the seller does not yet own

short score noun

A musical score with some of the parts omitted

short sea noun (nautical)

One in which the distance between the wave crests is comparatively short

short selling see sell short under sell¹

short sharp shock noun

A brief severe regime imposed by a prison or detention centre, esp on young offenders

short sheep noun

Short-woolled sheep

short shrift see under shrift

short-sightˈed adjective

1. Able to see clearly only those objects that are relatively near, myopic
2. Lacking foresight

short-sightˈedly adverb

short-sightˈedness noun

short-spōˈken adjective

Curt in speech

short-staffedˈ adjective

Having a reduced or inadequate number of staff

short-stāˈple adjective

(of wool, cotton, etc fibre) short

shortˈstop noun (baseball)

The fielding position (or the defending player positioned) between the second and third base

short story noun

A work of prose narrative shorter than a novel and usu concentrating on a single episode or experience and its effect

short subject noun (chiefly US)

A short film shown before the main film in a cinema

shortˈsword noun

A sword with a short blade

short-temˈpered adjective

Easily moved to anger, quick-tempered

short tennis noun

A form of tennis for children, using a smaller court and modified equipment and rules

shortˈ-term adjective

1. Extending over a short time
2. Concerned with the immediate present and future as distinct from time further ahead

short-termˈism noun

(a tendency towards) the adopting of only short-term views, solutions to problems, etc

short-termˈist noun and adjective

short-term memory noun (psychology)

A section of the memory with limited capacity, capable of storing information for a short time only

short time noun

(the condition of) working fewer than the normal number of hours per week

shortˈ-time adjective

short ton see ton¹

shortˈ-track (skating or speedskating) noun

Speedskating in which contestants race in packs around a 111.12-metre track, over any of several distances between 500m and 5000m

short wave noun

A radio wave with a frequency of between 10m and 100m

shortˈ-wave adjective

short-windˈed adjective

Quickly becoming breathless

by a short head

1. By a distance less than the length of a horse's head
2. Narrowly, barely (figurative)

caught short (informal)

Having a sudden, uncontrollable need to urinate or defecate

cut short see under cut

draw the short straw

To be given an unpleasant task, duty, etc, or the most unpleasant of several

fall short see under fall¹

for short

As an abbreviation

go short (informal)

To have an insufficient amount (esp of money or food)

have someone by the short and curlies (vulgar slang)

To have someone over a barrel, at one's mercy, in a position difficult to wriggle out of

in short

In a few words, briefly

in short supply

Not available in desired quantity, scarce

in the short run

Over a brief period of time

make short work of

To settle or dispose of promptly

run short see under run

short and sweet

1. Surprisingly or gratifyingly brief, used eg of a speech expected to be of greater length (and tedium)
2. (ironically) curt or abrupt

short for

A shortened form of

short of

1. Less than
2. Without going so far as
3. Having insufficient supplies of

short on (informal)

Deficient in

stop short

To come to a sudden standstill

taken short same as caught short above.

take (or take up) short

1. To take by surprise or at a disadvantage
2. To interrupt curtly

the short and the long (of it) (Shakespeare)

Same as the long and the short (see under long¹)