short
/ʃoɹt/adjective, adverb, noun, verb, preposition
short is spelled S-H-O-R-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 214 times per million words in written English, the 471st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, short means “Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in short?
| Letters | 5: S-H-O-R-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 214 times per million words; the 471st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is short?
Short appears 214 times per million words in written English, the 471st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce short?
- UK /ʃɔːt/
- British /ʃoːt/
- US /ʃoɹt/
Short has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-short.wav, En-au-short.ogg, En-us-short.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with short?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as short from its last stressed vowel (/oɹt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: horst.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of short
- shorter comparative
- shortest superlative
- shorts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shorting participle, present
- shorted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does short mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.
- 2
Of a person, living being, or object, having a comparatively small height.
- 3
Having little duration.
Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it’s been at least twenty minutes long.
- 4
Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).
"Phone" is short for "telephone" and "asap" short for "as soon as possible".
- 5
Of a fielder or fielding position, that is relatively close to the batsman.
- 6
Of a ball, bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.
- 7
Of an approach shot or putt, that falls short of the green or the hole.
- 8
Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.
adverb
- 1
Abruptly, curtly, briefly.
They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street.
- 2
Unawares.
The recent developments at work caught them short.
- 3
Without achieving a goal or requirement.
His speech fell short of what was expected.
- 4
Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.
- 5
With a negative ownership position.
We went short most finance companies in July.
noun
- 1
A short circuit.
The circuit breaker keeps tripping because there's a short in the wiring.
- 2
A short film.
- 3
A short-form vertical video.
- 4
A vertical video of any length.
long short
- 5
A short version of a garment in a particular size.
38 short suits fit me right off the rack.
- 6
A shortstop.
Jones smashes a grounder between third and short.
- 7
A short seller.
The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne.
- 8
A short sale or short position.
He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months.
verb
- 1
To cause a short circuit in (something).
You should short the poles of the capacitor to discharge it before you work on it.
- 2
To short circuit.
- 3
informalTo provide with an amount smaller than that agreed or labeled; to shortchange.
This is the third time I've caught them shorting us.
- 4
To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short.
- 5
obsoleteTo shorten.
preposition
- 1
Deficient in.
We are short a few men on the second shift.
- 2
Having a negative position in.
I don’t want to be short the market going into the weekend.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Short in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | court , petit, bref , court-circuiter |
| German | kurz , klein , kurzschließen , kurz (für) |
| Portuguese | curto , baixo , curto-circuitar , abreviação (de) , breve |
| Spanish | corto , bajo, petiso, chato, pishirico, patato |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does short come from?
From Middle English schort, short, from Old English sċeort, sċort (“short”), from Proto-West Germanic *skurt, from Proto-Germanic *skurtaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. Doublet of shirt, skirt, and curt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).