Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
shortage
shortbill spearfish
shortbread
shortcake
shortchange
shortcoming
shortcrust pastry
shortcut
shorten
shortening
shortfall
shorthair
shorthaired
shorthand
shorthand typist
shorthold tenancy
shorthorn
Click to move down the list of words
Also available:

World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français

shorten

short·en [ sháwrt'n ] (past and past participle short·ened, present participle short·en·ing, 3rd person present singular short·ens)


verb 
Definition:
 
1. transitive and intransitive verb become or make shorter: to make something shorter, or become shorter

2. transitive and intransitive verb gambling make odds shorter: to reduce the odds on a bet, or be reduced

3. transitive verb sailing reduce sail: to reduce the area of a sail

4. transitive verb cooking make pastry shorter: to make pastry more crumbly by adding more shortening


short·en·er noun
Advertisement

© 2009 Microsoft