Meaning of short In English

• 0 small in length, distance, or height:

  • a short skirt

  • Her hair is much shorter than it used to be.

  • It's only a short walk to the station.

  • I'm fairly short but my brother's very tall.

  • Her name's Jo - it's short for Josephine.

  • Her name's Josephine, or Jo for short.

• 1 being an amount of time that is less than average or usual:

  • a short film/visit

  • He's grown so much in such a short time.

  • I work much better if I take a short break every hour or so.

  • It's a very short book - you'll read it in an hour.

• 2 to not have enough of something:

  • to be short of space/time

  • We're short on coffee - I'd better get some more.

  • The bill comes to £85, but we're £15 short.

  • I'm a little short (= I do not have much money) this week - could you lend me ten dollars?

  • She's always short of breath when she climbs the stairs.

  • Free desks are in short supply in this office.

  • My parents didn't have much money, but they made sure we didn't go short (of anything).

• 3 saying little but showing slight impatience or anger in the few words that you say:

  • I'm sorry if I was a bit short with you on the phone this morning.

• 4 a drink of spirits (= type of strong alcohol) without water or any other liquid added:

  • She only drinks shorts, never wine or beer.

• 5 a short film, especially one made for showing before the main film at a cinema

• 6 informal for short circuit

• 7 informal for short-circuit :

  • The plumber shorted the washing machine.

• 8 before the arranged or expected time or place:

  • We wanted to explain the plans fully, but the chairman stopped us short, as there were other important matters to discuss.

• 9 used with adjectives ending in -ed formed from nouns to describe something with a short part:

  • a short-haired dog (= a dog with short hair)

  • a short-sleeved shirt (= a shirt with short sleeves)

• 10 having little length, distance, or height:

  • Short hair is back in style.

  • It’s only a short walk to the store.

• 11 of a small amount of time, or less than the average or usual amount of time:

  • Mary Lou was here a short while ago.

  • There will be a short delay in the flight while we load a few more bags.

• 12 not reaching a desired amount or level; lacking:

  • The bill comes to $85, but we’re $15 short.

• 13 in a way that makes something short in length, distance, or height:

  • She decided to cut her hair short.

• 14 before the arranged or expected time or place:

  • I started to say something, but he cut me short (= stopped me from continuing).

• 15 not having enough of something that you need:

  • be short of sth We are very short of staff and if we face a major incident we'll be stretched.

  • be short on sth The Budget was short on announcements about personal taxes.

  • leave sth short of sth The rocky economy has left the state so short of money that it must cut spending.

• 16 not available or not large enough in number or amount:

  • The most common ways of ending an interview are saying that time is short.

  • Those from well-off homes tend to be spendthrift even when money is short.

• 17 less than a particular amount:

  • short of sth The charity raised just short of €7m last year.

• 18 used to describe the selling of shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, making a profit:

  • In a short sale, an investor can sell stock he doesn't own, hoping to buy the shares at a cheaper price later on.

• 19 used to describe a shorter form of a name or word:

  • short for sth Ami is short for artificial machine intelligence.

  • for short Keep an eye on Canada's Northern Telecom, Nortel for short.

• 20 with little warning:

  • Many start-up companies need the freedom to hire and fire staff at short notice.

• 21 not available in large amounts or numbers:

  • Temporary workers are in short supply.

  • If you can offer talents that are in short supply, you are in a strong position.

• 22 if you sell shares short, you sell shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, making a profit:

  • The group's conservative growth portfolio isn't allowed to sell stocks short.

  • A popular hedge fund move is to go short.

  • go short on sth Speculators are going short on the Hong Kong dollar.

• 23 if you run short of something, you have too little of it left:

  • The bank has been plagued for months by speculation that it is running short of capital.

  • Time is for a deal to get done.

  • In two months food will run short.

• 24 to sell shares that you have borrowed, hoping that their price will fall before you buy them back and return them to their owner, so that you make a profit:

  • As many as 27% of the company's shares have been shorted.