What does "shorten" mean?
Shorten: To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen; to abridge; to curtail; to contract; as, to shorten work, an allowance of food, etc. Here, where the subject is so fruitful, I am shortened by my chain. Dryden.
Additional senses
- 2.To make deficient (as to); to deprive; -- with of. Spoiled of his nose, and shortened of his ears. Dryden.
- 3.To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, pot liquor, or the like. To shorten a rope (Naut.), to take in the slack of it. -- To shorten sail (Naut.), to reduce sail by taking it in.
- 4.To become short or shorter; as, the day shortens in northern latitudes from June to December; a metallic rod shortens by cold.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00