short*/*/*/

[ʃɔːt] adj I

1) measuring a small height, length, or distance

She's short and slim, with light brown hair and blue eyes.[/ex]

The theatre is a relatively short distance from here.[/ex]

The sleeves are much too short.[/ex]

2) a short period of time does not last very long, or seems to pass quickly

I'm sorry this has been such a short stay.[/ex]

He was here for a short while last week.[/ex]

It will be difficult to reach an agreement in such a short space of time.[/ex]

3) expressed in few words, or containing few pages

Could you give us a short summary of what happened?[/ex]

It was a short book and she read it in one night.[/ex]

4) using fewer words or letters than the full form of something

Memo is short for memorandum.[/ex]

My name is Elizabeth, or Liz for short.[/ex]

5) used for saying that you do not have enough of something

Dad wasn't working and money was short.[/ex]

Skilled workers are in short supply around here.[/ex]

Many of our clients are short of money.[/ex]

He's very bright but a little short on personality.[/ex]

We were very poor then, and often went short of food.[/ex]

6) if you have a short memory, you are not able or willing to remember things

7) rude and unfriendly when speaking to someone

•

at short notice — without being given much warning before something happens[/ex]

I was asked to come at very short notice.[/ex]

in the short run / term — during the period of time that is not very far into the future[/ex]

The policy served him well in the short term but later backfired.[/ex]

II

adv

short */*/[ʃɔːt]

without reaching a particular place or position

The plane came down just short of the runway.[/ex]

•

cut sth short — to end something before it is completely finished[/ex]

We cut our holiday short because Rachel fell ill.[/ex]

cut sth short — to make something last for less time than it was planned to last for[/ex]

I'm sorry we had to cut our visit short.[/ex]

fall short of sth — to fail to reach your aim or fail to reach a particular level[/ex]

Sales of the CD fell short of expectations.[/ex]

run short (of sth) — used for saying that there is not much of something left[/ex]

Supplies were running short as winter came on.[/ex]

We're running short of time.[/ex]

short of (doing) sth — except for[/ex]

Short of winning the lottery, I don't know how we'll pay for this.[/ex]

Nothing short of a miracle can save us now.[/ex]

III

noun [C]

short [ʃɔːt]

1) British

a strong alcoholic drink served in small amounts

2) informal

a film that lasts only a few minutes

3) a short circuit

•

in short — used for introducing a summary of something that you have just said[/ex]

See:

shorts