Link Centre Dictionary

shorten

shor·ten

UK/ˈʃɔːtn̩/ US/ˈʃɔɹtn̩/ uncommon dated

verb

1.

make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration

  • “He shortened his trip due to illness”
Antonyms
2.

reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

  • “The manuscript must be shortened”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

make short or shorter

  • “shorten the skirt”
  • “shorten the rope by a few inches”
4.

become short or shorter

  • “In winter, the days shorten”
Antonyms
5.

edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate

  • “bowdlerize a novel”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English shortnen, schortenen, equivalent to short + -en (verbal suffix). In some senses, a continuation (in altered form) of Middle English schorten (“to make short, shorten”), from Old English sċortian (“to become short”), from Proto-Germanic *skurtōną (“to shorten”).

Phrases

  • shorten down
  • shorten up

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.