shorten

/ˈʃɔːtn̩/

//ˈʃɔːtn̩// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shorten" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shorten” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,718. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,718
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make shorter; to abbreviate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shorten · shorten · English

shorten · rank #17,718 · 11 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,718
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shea

Nearest frequency peer: Shea (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shorten”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shorten” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shorten vs shorts
71% similar
shorten vs sorted
71% similar
shorten vs soften
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shorten
PropertyValue
Headwordshorten
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈʃɔːtn̩/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,718
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shorten”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shortenlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Shea” (#17,717), “sighs” (#17,719), “Shapiro” (#17,716). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shorten” is #17,718. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around shorten (IPA /ˈʃɔːtn̩/), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,718 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for shorten, with forms such as "hsorten", "shhorten", and "shoretn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "shorts", "sorted", "soften", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 *… The correct English form is shorten, spelled S-H-O-R-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make shorter; to abbreviate.
  2. 2
    To become shorter.
  3. 3
    To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of).
  4. 4
    To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc.
  5. 5
    To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen.
  6. 6
    To make crumbly.
  7. 7
    To take in the slack of (a rope).
  8. 8
    To reduce (sail) by taking it in.
  9. 9
    to dress (a baby) in a short (rather than long) gown

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shorten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. York came round to our heads and shortened the rein himself, one hole I think; every little makes a difference, be it for better or worse, and that day we had a steep hill to go up.
  2. The full title of the unified system, the South Eastern & London, Chatham & Dover Railways, was decidedly cumbersome, and for the sake of convenience was shortened to the South Eastern & Chatham Railway.

Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

abbreviateabridgechop downchop offcompresscondensecurtcurtaillop offmake shorterpareprunereduce in lengthshortentrimtruncatesaw off

Antonyms

extendlengthen

This word in other languages

acortar(Español)raccourcir(Français)verkürzen(Deutsch)encurtar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsorten
  • shhorten
  • shoretn
  • shorrten
  • shortenn
  • shortne
  • shortten
  • shotren
  • shroten
  • sohrten
  • sshorten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shorten - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hsorten2shhorten1shoretn2shorrten1shortenn1shortne2shortten1shotren2
Edit distance from "shorten"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shorten"?
"shorten" is spelled S-H-O-R-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɔːtn̩/.
What does "shorten" mean?
As a verb, "shorten" means: To make shorter; to abbreviate.
What words are commonly confused with "shorten"?
"shorten" is commonly confused with "shorts", "sorted", "soften". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shorten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shorten" is /ˈʃɔːtn̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shorten"?
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-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shorten", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Shapiro#17,716Senegal#17,714sparkle#17,723savages#17,711

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

surrogate11 variantstrapping11 variantsTristan11 variantsplainly11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list