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short · adjective /ʃɔːt/Full view
Nouns: short, shortage, shortness
Adjectives: short
Verbs: shorten
Adverbs: short, shortly
short (LENGTH/DISTANCE/HEIGHT)
A1 small in length, distance or height
Dictionary examples:

a short skirt

Her hair is much shorter than it used to be.

It's only a short walk to the station.

I'm quite short but my brother's very tall.

Learner example:

And also I don't like to wear short skirt[s] and blouses in college class time. (Skills for Life (Entry 1); A1; Luganda)

short (TIME)
A1 continuing for a small amount of time
Dictionary examples:

a short film/visit

He's grown so much in such a short time.

I work much better if I take a short break every hour or so.

Learner example:

It's [a] short time but we are very busy because we do many exercises. (Skills for Life (Entry 1); A1; Polish)

short (WORDS)
A2 A short book or other piece of writing has few pages or words.
Dictionary examples:

a short email/letter

It's a very short book - you'll read it in an hour.

Learner example:

Dear Sue This is a short note to tell you that I ha[ve] a new house. (Key English Test; A2; Chinese)

be short of sth
B1 to not have enough of something
Dictionary examples:

to be short of space/time

We're a bit short of coffee - I must get some more.

Learner example:

Because I was short of money, I [said] yes. (Preliminary English Test; B1; Spanish)

short (NAME)
B2 describes a name that is used as a shorter form of a name
Dictionary examples:

Her name's Jo - it's short for Josephine.

Her name's Josephine, or Jo for short.

Learner example:

There is even a strange disease called Chronic Fatigue Syndrom[e] (CFS for short). (First Certificate in English; B2; Polish)

at short notice
C1 only a short time before something happens
Dictionary example:

I had to give a speech at very short notice.

Learner example:

The fact that the speech by the famous actor was cancelled at short notice was disappointing. (Certificate in Advanced English; C1; Greek)

short · noun /ʃɔːt/
Nouns: short, shortage, shortness
Adjectives: short
Verbs: shorten
Adverbs: short, shortly
in short
C1 in a few words
Dictionary example:

In short, we need more staff.

Learner example:

In short, ancient Chinese poems, mainly [from the] Jang D[yna]sty, constitute [the] background for Chinese culture and set a touchstone for judgement in our life. (Certificate in Advanced English; C1; Chinese)

short · adverb /ʃɔːt/
Nouns: short, shortage, shortness
Adjectives: short
Verbs: shorten
Adverbs: short, shortly
cut sth short or cut short sth
C2 to have to stop doing something before it is finished
Dictionary example:

They had to cut the holiday short when her mother was taken ill.

to cut a long story short
C1 to mention only the final result or point of something without going into other details
Dictionary example:

To cut a long story short, he never played baseball again.

Learner example:

Well, to cut a long story short, let's say tuition yes, facilities no. (Certificate in Advanced English; C1; Spanish)

fall short of sth
C2 to not reach a particular level, but only by a small amount
Dictionary example:

Sales for the first half of this year fell just short of the target.

Learner example:

Furthermore, it cannot be denied that public transport falls short of the target set during the planning process. (Certificate of Proficiency in English; C2; Swiss German)

fall short of sth
C2 to fail to achieve something
Dictionary examples:

His behaviour falls short of what we expect.

She just fell short of the grades she needed.

Learner example:

This routine was really wearing me out, but, I didn't want to fall short of my parents' expectations. (Certificate of Proficiency in English; C2; Spanish)

stop short of sth/doing sth
C2 to almost do something but decide not to do it
Dictionary example:

She stopped short of accusing him of lying.

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