as in reduces
to make less in extent or duration
we decided to shorten the distance we had to walk home by cutting across the neighbor's lawn if Grandma has to go shopping today, you'll need to shorten your visit
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Recent Examples of shortens
That design choice lowers costs and shortens deployment time.
—
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026
Not only do the chinstraps and Adelies have more competition for food from gentoos because of the warming and changes in plankton and krill, but the changes have brought more commercial fishing that comes earlier and that further shortens the supply for the penguins, Suttle said.
—Seth Borenstein, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
The companies said this approach cuts fabric offcuts and shortens production time by reducing the number of pattern pieces and construction steps.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
Not only do the chinstraps and Adelies have more competition for food from gentoos because of the warming and changes in plankton and krill, but the changes have brought more commercial fishing that comes earlier and that further shortens the supply for the penguins, Suttle said.
—CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Used well, this shortens the time between proposing an idea and observing its behavior.
—Ted Ladd, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
The container should be large enough that the leaves aren’t compressed, since bruising shortens shelf life.
—Lynn Andriani, Martha Stewart, 14 Jan. 2026
Taking zinc on the first day symptoms appear shortens the duration of respiratory viruses, such as the common cold and COVID-19.
—Megan Nunn, Verywell Health, 7 Jan. 2026
Unfiltered water, Adams insists, leads to sediment buildup in your water heater, which shortens its lifespan and lessens its heating efficiency.
—Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026
Not only do the chinstraps and Adelies have more competition for food from gentoos because of the warming and changes in plankton and krill, but the changes have brought more commercial fishing that comes earlier and that further shortens the supply for the penguins, Suttle said.
—Seth Borenstein, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
The companies said this approach cuts fabric offcuts and shortens production time by reducing the number of pattern pieces and construction steps.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 21 Jan. 2026
Not only do the chinstraps and Adelies have more competition for food from gentoos because of the warming and changes in plankton and krill, but the changes have brought more commercial fishing that comes earlier and that further shortens the supply for the penguins, Suttle said.
—CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Used well, this shortens the time between proposing an idea and observing its behavior.
—Ted Ladd, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
The container should be large enough that the leaves aren’t compressed, since bruising shortens shelf life.
—Lynn Andriani, Martha Stewart, 14 Jan. 2026
Taking zinc on the first day symptoms appear shortens the duration of respiratory viruses, such as the common cold and COVID-19.
—Megan Nunn, Verywell Health, 7 Jan. 2026
Unfiltered water, Adams insists, leads to sediment buildup in your water heater, which shortens its lifespan and lessens its heating efficiency.
—Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shortens
Verb
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According to the company, this reduces inventory burdens, streamlines logistics, and shortens installation timelines.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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This greatly reduces environmental concerns related to legacy waste.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Postal Service™ curtails delivery only after careful consideration, and only as a last resort.—
Alexis Simmerman,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Jan. 2026
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The connection of these celestial entities brightens our drive, but curtails our intuition.—
Lisa Stardust,
Refinery29,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That’s a tactic city financers used on several other bond projects as well, said Molly Scarbrough, a deputy program manager for the Denver GO Bond Program, which abbreviates general obligation bond.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Conductance decreases exponentially as the molecule gets longer, meaning longer molecules carry less current.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
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These include older adults (partly because the skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases with age) and people with certain medical conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other disorders that interfere with the body’s ability to absorb dietary fat.—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shortens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shortens. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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