short

short1 [ ʃɔrt ] adjective ***

▸ 1 small in height/distance

▸ 2 time: not long

▸ 3 expressed in few words

▸ 4 with fewer words/letters

▸ 5 not having enough

▸ 6 about memory

▸ 7 rude and unfriendly

▸ 8 about vowel/syllable

▸ 9 full of butter/fat

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) measuring a small height, length, or distance:

She's short and thin, with light brown hair and blue eyes.

You'll need three short boards for the shelves.

The theater is a relatively short distance from here.

a ) not long enough or tall enough:

The fence posts are all six inches short.

The sleeves are much too short.

2. ) a period of time that is short does not last very long or seems to pass quickly:

a short while: He was here for a short while last week.

a short period/spell: After a short period living in San Francisco, she moved to Houston.

a short stay: I'm sorry this has been such a short stay.

a few short hours/days/weeks: In a few short weeks he'll be going back to school.

3. ) expressed in few words or containing few pages:

Could you give us a short summary of what happened?

a short article/book/poem: It was a short book and she read it in one night.

4. ) using fewer words or letters than the full form of something:

short for: Memo is short for memorandum.

for short: My name is Elizabeth, or Liz for short.

5. ) used for saying that you do not have enough of something:

Have you got any change on you? I'm $20 short (=I have $20 less than I need).

We're short one waitress tonight, so everyone will have to work harder.

short on: He's very bright but a little short on personality.

short of: They were three short of a majority, so the vote didn't pass.

short of money/food/clothing: Many of our clients are short of money.

a ) if something is short or in short supply, there is not enough of it or it is not easy to get:

Dad wasn't working and money was short.

Skilled workers are in short supply around here.

b ) short of breath finding it difficult to breathe:

I was short of breath after climbing the stairs to her apartment.

6. ) if you have a short memory you are not able or willing to remember things that did not happen recently

7. ) rude and unfriendly when speaking to someone:

She's very busy and can be a little short at times.

a ) have a short temper/fuse to get angry very easily

8. ) LINGUISTICS a short vowel or SYLLABLE is one that you pronounce quickly

9. ) full of butter or other fat

at/on short notice

without being given much warning before something happens:

I was asked to do it on very short notice.

draw/get the short straw

to be the person in a group who has to do an unpleasant or difficult job:

I drew the short straw and had to stay late.

in short order

quickly and without any problems:

I managed to get her out of the room in short order.

in the short run/term

during the period of time that is not very far into the future:

The policy served him well in the short term, but later backfired.

in/within a short space of time

before much time has passed:

In a short space of time she moved from clerk to assistant buyer.

make short work of something

to deal with something quickly and easily:

He made short work of his opponent, winning the fight after only two rounds.

You kids certainly made short work of those cookies!

short and sweet

not too long or complicated:

Time is limited, so please keep your remarks short and sweet.

short

short 2 [ ʃɔrt ] adverb ***

short of without reaching a particular place or position:

The airplane came down just short of the runway.

You should aim a few inches short (=in front) of your target.

be caught short INFORMAL

1. ) AMERICAN to have less money than you need in a particular situation:

I was caught short at lunch and had to borrow $10 from Joe.

2. ) BRITISH to feel an urgent need to go to the toilet

cut someone short INFORMAL

to interrupt someone while they are speaking

cut something short

to end something before it is completely finished:

We cut our vacation short because Rachel got sick.

fall short of something

to fail to meet your goal or fail to reach a particular level:

Our fundraising efforts fell short of the $10,000 we needed.

The group's musicianship fell far short of what I had expected.

go short (of something) BRITISH

to have less than you need of something such as food, clothing, or shelter:

As long as I have a job my children will never go short.

nothing/little short of something

used for saying how extreme a situation is:

The whole evening was little short of a complete disaster.

nothing short of a miracle: Nothing short of a miracle can save us now.

pull/bring someone up short BRITISH

to cause someone to suddenly stop what they are doing

run short (of something)

used for saying that you have used almost all of a particular thing and there is not much left:

Supplies were running short as winter came on.

The party had just begun and we were already running short of beer.

short of something

except for or unless:

Short of winning the lottery, I don't know how we'll pay for this.

I don't see any answer, short of selling the house.

=> STOP1

short

short 3 [ ʃɔrt ] noun *

▸ 1 short movie

▸ 2 short circuit

▸ 3 shortstop in baseball

▸ 4 short clothing size

▸ 5 small alcoholic drink

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) count INFORMAL a movie that lasts only a few minutes, sometimes shown at a theater before the main movie

2. ) count a SHORT CIRCUIT

3. ) uncount AMERICAN INFORMAL SHORTSTOP

4. ) count or uncount a clothing size for a short person, or a piece of clothing in this size

5. ) count BRITISH a strong alcoholic drink served in small amounts

in short

used for introducing a summary of something you have just said:

Inflation is down, spending is up. In short, the economy is in good shape.

short

short 4 [ ʃɔrt ] verb

1. ) short or short out intransitive or transitive to SHORT-CIRCUIT, or to make something do this:

I think the lamp has shorted.

2. ) transitive AMERICAN INFORMAL to give someone less of something than they expect or should get:

I asked for two pounds of walnuts but she shorted me by about four ounces.