Webster's English Dictionary

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short

Cross references:
  1. brief                 
 
1. short \'sho.(*)rt\ \'sho.rt-ish\ aj [ME, fr. OE scort] 1a: having little 
   length  1b: LOW  2a: not extended in time : BRIEF {a ~ memory}  2b: 
   EXPEDITIOUS, QUICK  2c: seeming to pass quickly 3a of a speech sound : 
   having a relati vely short duration 2b: being the member of a pair of 
   similarly spelled vowel or vowel-contain ing sounds that is descended from 
   a vowel that is short in duration but that is not short in duration or does 
   not have duration as its chief distinguishing feature {~ i in sin} of a 
   syllable in prosody  2c1: of relatively brief duration  2c2: UNSTRESSED  4: 
   limited in distance  5a: not coming up to a measure or requirement : 
   INSUFFICIENT  5b: not reaching far enough  5c: enduring privation  5d: 
   inherently or basically weak {~ on brains}  6a: ABRUPT, CURT  6b: quickly 
   provoked  7: CHOPPY  archaic  8a: near at hand  8b: payable at an early 
   date  9a: containing or cooked with shortening : CRISP, FRIABLE  of metal  
   9b: brittle under certain conditions  10a: not lengthy or drawn out  10b: 
   ABBREVIATED  11a: not having goods or property that one has sold in 
   anticipation of a f all in prices 11b: consisting of or relating to a sale 
   of securities or commodities that  the seller does not possess or has not 
   contracted for at the time of the sale {~ sale} - short.ish aj
2. short av 1: in a curt manner  2: BRIEFLY  3: at a disadvantage : 
   UNAWARES {caught ~}  4: so as to interrupt {took him up ~}  5: ABRUPTLY, 
   SUDDENLY  6: at some point before a goal or limit aimed at  7: clean across 
   {the axle was snapped ~}  8: by or as if by a short sale 
3. short n 1: the sum and substance : UPSHOT  2a: a short syllable  2b: a 
   short sound signal  pl  3a: a by-product of wheat milling that includes the 
   germ, fine bran, and so me flour 3b: refuse, clippings, or trimmings 
   discarded in various manufacturing proc esses pl  4a: knee-length or less 
   than knee-length trousers  4b: short drawers  5a: one who operates on the 
   short side of the market  pl  5b: short-term bonds  pl  6: DEFICIENCIES  7: 
   SHORTSTOP  : by way of summary : BRIEFLY  - in short 
4. short vt 1: SHORTCHANGE, CHEAT  2: SHORT-CIRCUIT