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Definitions

shorten

[shawr-tn] / ˈʃɔr tn /
VERB
diminish, decrease
Synonyms
STRONGEST
abbreviate compress curtail cut cut back cut down lessen minimize reduce shrink slash trim
STRONG
abridge bob chop clip condense contract dock edit elide excerpt lop retrench snip
WEAK
blue pencil boil down cut to the bone make a long story short put in a nutshell
Antonyms
STRONGEST
develop enlarge expand extend grow increase lengthen raise strengthen stretch
WEAK
amplify elongate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This approach could also shorten cooking times, making it appealing for large-scale food production.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026

The fast-entry rule would shorten the time it takes for a newly public company to make the Nasdaq-100 roster to less than a month.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

They shorten phrases like "inclusive representation" to "inclush-representash" and urge her to adopt the hashtag "wheely in love" to help it go viral.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

However, weather conditions can shorten the process to four days or prolong it for as long as a month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

But despite all that, Valley had overheard her mother saying the Dimblewits had pulled some strings and used some of their considerable wealth to shorten their sentence.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Vocabulary lists containing shorten

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