1
as in little
having relatively little height
a lot of boys are shorter than the girls in middle school, but they quickly catch up by high school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brief
not lasting for a considerable time
fortunately for those of us in the hot sun, the graduation speech was short and to the point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
regrettably, the art supplies are short this year, so you'll have to share
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in brittle
having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure
short pastry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in blunt
being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner
I didn't mean to be so short with you by responding to your request with a snippy "I'm busy!"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in abruptly
with great suddenness
the bicyclist ahead of me unexpectedly pulled up short and I unavoidably plowed into him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to squeeze
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
charged that the used-car dealer had been shorting customers for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in feature
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of short
Lily Wohlner, Allure, 12 July 2025
Max Fleischer’s Superman shorts are punchy and ecstatically animated.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 12 July 2025
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Families can also listen to short episodes of the Cow Tales Podcast and find more secret missions.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 July 2025
Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The 2010 disappearance and death of 17-year-old Paige Johnson shows how cell tower data alone can fall short.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Brady Oltmans, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Moore stole second and Ryan Klein drew a walk to put two on with no outs, but Miami reliever Brain Walters remained composed, including a flyout to right, a groundout to short, and a flyout to center that helped the Hurricanes escape the jam and secure the victory.
—Miami Herald, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Adjective
Best Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2025 Body-Care Deals Dull, dry skin is never the vibe, especially during shorts season.
—Lily Wohlner, Allure, 12 July 2025
Max Fleischer’s Superman shorts are punchy and ecstatically animated.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 12 July 2025
Adverb
Last season, Kawamura was the shortest player in the NBA at 5-foot-8.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Families can also listen to short episodes of the Cow Tales Podcast and find more secret missions.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 July 2025
Verb
That setoff a fast-moving timeline that will ultimately determine if third graders who fall short on the test will move on to fourth grade or be held back.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
The 2010 disappearance and death of 17-year-old Paige Johnson shows how cell tower data alone can fall short.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Noun
The Big Ten player of the year chopped the first pitch to short for a 6-3 inning-ending double play.
—Brady Oltmans, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Moore stole second and Ryan Klein drew a walk to put two on with no outs, but Miami reliever Brain Walters remained composed, including a flyout to right, a groundout to short, and a flyout to center that helped the Hurricanes escape the jam and secure the victory.
—Miami Herald, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for short
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short
Adjective
-
With their upper minor league depth worn thin, the Braves’ called on 19-year-old Didier Fuentes, who had little experience above A ball.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
If Brookshire bounces back the next year, Schroth predicts there will be little reaction from neighbors.—
Zoey Thomas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
Topline Actor Ike Barinholtz is in talks to portray the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, in an upcoming comedy-drama movie that will reportedly center on the brief ousting of billionaire Sam Altman from the helm of OpenAI in 2023.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
-
On a brief stakeout at two Duck World establishments, CNBC observed shoppers ranging from rambunctious toddlers to middle-aged tourists.—
Ruxandra Iordache,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
Whether your hair is naturally dry or parched from excessive color treatments and heat styling, brittle strands are a stubborn bummer.—
Annie Blackman,
Glamour,
14 July 2025
-
Models that aren’t trained that way—like early LLMs trained mainly with vanilla imitation learning—tend to be brittle and error-prone.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 July 2025
Adjective
-
The cause of death was traumatic blunt force injuries.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
21 July 2025
-
The magnetized tank struck the child, who died of blunt force trauma injuries.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
20 July 2025
Adverb
-
Two days later, Trump abruptly ended negotiations with Canada, to protest a digital-services tax that the country wanted to apply to several U.S. tech companies.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
-
These dunes, which rise abruptly from the shadow of Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, are formed by the interplay of winds funneling through mountain passes and the ongoing recycling of sand via wind.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
20 July 2025
Verb
-
Capitalism, which generously expanded classical recording, could abruptly squeeze it, even destroy it.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
20 July 2025
-
In particular, the price of rice has doubled, squeezing many household budgets despite government handouts.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
20 July 2025
Noun
-
But psychiatrists struggled to pinpoint a single feature that unified the diagnosis.—
Rachel Aviv,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
-
Speaking from the store via a video call ahead of the opening, Marras proudly pointed to some of the main features, enthusing about the SoHo neighborhood, highlighting its art scene and cultural environment.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
21 July 2025
Adjective
-
In a small bowl, combine the softened butter and garlic and mix well.—
Robin Miller,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
-
Beyond providing an invitation for music-curious Austinites to come explore the clubs, the festival offers a lifeline to musicians and venues during the slow summer season, when small clubs that support emerging artists face some of their greatest challenges.—
Mars Salazar,
Austin American Statesman,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Short.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share