shorten
gb/ʃˈɔɹtən/ us/ʃˈɔɹtən/
A2
English
~ 7000
Senses
0 senses
Verb
A2
action
1
Make something less long or tall
To make something, or to become, not as long, high, or lasting as before.
Usage pattern:
shorten [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *make it more short* instead of *shorten it*. Use *shorten* as a verb, not *more short*, when talking about reducing length or time.
Synonyms
reduce (More general; can refer to amount, level, or size, not just length or time.)
Antonyms
lengthen (Means to make something longer in time or size, the direct opposite of shortening.)
Collocations
shorten the meeting
|shorten the trip
|shorten the sleeves
|shorten the distance
|shorten your hair
|shorten the time
Themes
daily life
|time
|measurement
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- They decided to shorten the meeting so everyone could catch the earlier train.
- I need to shorten the sleeves on this shirt because they are too long.
- The new highway will shorten the drive between the two cities by almost an hour.
- The days start to shorten as autumn approaches in the northern hemisphere.
- Cutting out one scene helped shorten the film to under two hours.
Learner examples
- He wants to shorten his hair for the summer.
- We had to shorten our vacation because of money.
- This road will shorten the trip to the airport.
- In winter the days shorten and it gets dark early.
- She asked the tailor to shorten her dress.
Verb
B1
action
2
Make writing or speech briefer
To make a text or speech shorter by taking out some parts.
Usage pattern:
shorten [a text / a speech / a message]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use *cut* alone (e.g., *cut the text*) when they mean *shorten the text*. *Cut* can sound less careful and does not always mean making something neatly shorter for clarity.
Synonyms
condense (Focuses on making something shorter but also more compact and concentrated in meaning.)
Antonyms
expand (Means to make a text or speech longer by adding more information.)
Collocations
shorten a sentence
|shorten the report
|shorten the article
|shorten a speech
|shorten the introduction
|shorten the essay
Themes
communication
|education
|work
Examples
- The editor asked her to shorten the article by 300 words.
- Can you shorten your email so it fits in one screen?
- They had to shorten the speech to ten minutes for the live broadcast.
- The teacher told the students to shorten their answers to only the key points.
- He shortened the introduction to get to the main topic more quickly.
Learner examples
- Please shorten this paragraph. It is too long.
- The teacher said, "Shorten your answer to one sentence."
- I will shorten my email so you can read it fast.
- We must shorten the report before we send it.
- She shortened her story for the school magazine.
Verb
technical
C1
action
3
Make a speech sound shorter
When talking about sounds in language, to say a sound for less time.
Usage pattern:
shorten [a sound / a vowel]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this technical use of *shorten* with the everyday sense about time or length in space; here it refers specifically to how long a sound is pronounced.
Synonyms
clip (Informal technical term meaning to cut off part of a sound so it is shorter or less fully pronounced.)
Antonyms
lengthen (In phonetics, to increase the duration of a vowel or other speech sound.)
Collocations
shorten the vowel
|shorten the sound
|shorten the syllable
|shorten the stressed vowel
Themes
linguistics
|education
|science
Examples
- In this dialect, speakers tend to shorten the vowel in stressed syllables.
- The teacher reminded students not to shorten the long 'ee' sound in these words.
- Some languages shorten vowels before certain consonant clusters.
- When you speak quickly, you often shorten unstressed vowels without noticing.
- The phonetic rule states that you must shorten the final vowel in connected speech.
Learner examples
- In fast speech, people often shorten some sounds.
- The teacher told us not to shorten the long vowel in this word.
- In this language, you shorten the vowel before a double consonant.
- When you shorten the sound, the word can change meaning.
- English speakers sometimes shorten vowels at the end of a sentence.
Verb
C2
action
4
Add fat to make pastry tender
In baking, to add fat to dough so that it becomes soft and breaks easily when cooked.
Usage pattern:
shorten [the dough / the pastry] with [fat]
Common mistake:
Learners may think this sense is about making cooking time shorter. In baking, *shorten* refers to adding fat to change the texture of dough or pastry, not to the cooking time.
Synonyms
tenderize (A general cooking term; *shorten* is specific to making dough or pastry more tender with fat.)
Antonyms
strengthen (In baking, to develop more gluten so the dough becomes more elastic and less crumbly, the opposite effect of shortening.)
Collocations
shorten the dough
|shorten the pastry
|shorten with butter
|shorten with lard
|shorten with vegetable shortening
Themes
cooking
|food
|food_drink
Examples
- For a flaky crust, you need to shorten the pastry well with cold butter.
- This recipe tells you to shorten the dough with lard before adding the water.
- Using oil instead of butter will shorten the mixture differently and change the texture.
- If you overwork the flour before you shorten it, the pastry can become tough.
- Traditional pie recipes often shorten the dough with a mix of butter and shortening.
Learner examples
- First, shorten the dough with cold butter.
- The cook shortened the pastry with lard.
- We shorten the mixture before we add water.
- She asked how to shorten the dough for a pie.
- If you do not shorten it enough, the pastry is hard.
Grammar
Dictionary form
shorten
IPA
GB/ʃˈɔɹtən/
US/ʃˈɔɹtən/
Syllables & stress
shorten (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (shorten)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: shorten
- 3rd Person Singular: shortens
- Present Participle: shortening
- Past: shortened
Word family
Expressions
shorten a URL
1/ʃˈɔɹtən ə jˈu ˈɑɹ ˈɛl/
fixed phrase
Make a web link shorter
To make a long web address shorter using a special website, so it is easier to share.
Examples
- You can shorten a URL before posting it on social media.
- This tool lets you shorten a URL and track how many people click it.
- He shortened the URL so it would fit in the message limit.
shorten a word
1/ʃˈɔɹtən ə wˈɚd/
fixed phrase
Make a word shorter
To make a word shorter by taking away some letters or sounds.
Examples
- People often shorten the word "advertisement" to "ad".
- In texting, many users shorten words to save time.
- The teacher explained how we sometimes shorten words in informal speech.
shorten someone's life
1/ʃˈɔɹtən sˈʌmwˌʌnz lˈaɪf/
fixed phrase
Cause someone to live fewer years
To make a person die sooner than they could have, for example because of stress, illness, or bad habits.
Examples
- Doctors warn that heavy smoking can shorten someone's life by many years.
- Constant stress at work may shorten your life if you do not take care of yourself.
- Poor air quality is believed to shorten the lives of people in large cities.
shorten the distance
1/ʃˈɔɹtən ðə dˈɪstəns/
fixed phrase
Reduce how far you must go
To make the way between two places less far, usually by changing the route or building a new road.
Examples
- The new bridge will shorten the distance between the villages by several kilometers.
- Taking this path through the park will shorten the distance to the station.
- A tunnel under the mountain could greatly shorten the distance between the cities.
shorten the time
1/ʃˈɔɹtən ðə tˈaɪm/
fixed phrase
Reduce how long something takes
To make something take less time.
Examples
- Using a pressure cooker can shorten the time it takes to make stew.
- Online check-in helps shorten the time you spend at the airport.
- Good preparation will shorten the time needed to finish this project.