shorten
/ˈʃɔɹtn̩/verb
shorten is spelled S-H-O-R-T-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, shorten means “To make shorter; to abbreviate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shorten?
| Letters | 7: S-H-O-R-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shorten?
Shorten appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th 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 shorten?
- UK /ˈʃɔːtn̩/
- US /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/
Shorten has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shorten.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shorten
- shortens present, singular, he/she/it
- shortening participle, present
- shortened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shorten mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make shorter; to abbreviate.
- 2
To become shorter.
- 3
To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of).
- 4
To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc.
- 5
To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen.
to shorten an allowance of food
- 6
To make crumbly.
- 7
To take in the slack of (a rope).
- 8
To reduce (sail) by taking it in.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shorten in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | raccourcir, écourter , s'écourter |
| German | verkürzen , kürzer werden |
| Portuguese | encurtar |
| Spanish | acortar, acorzar, alcorzar , acortarse |
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 shorten come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).