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Definition of shorten verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shorten

verb
 
/ˈʃɔːtn/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtn/
[transitive, intransitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they shorten
 
/ˈʃɔːtn/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtn/
he / she / it shortens
 
/ˈʃɔːtnz/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtnz/
past simple shortened
 
/ˈʃɔːtnd/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtnd/
past participle shortened
 
/ˈʃɔːtnd/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtnd/
-ing form shortening
 
/ˈʃɔːtnɪŋ/
 
/ˈʃɔːrtnɪŋ/
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  1. to make something shorter; to become shorter
    • shorten (something) Injury problems could shorten his career.
    • a shortened version of the game
    • In November the temperatures drop and the days shorten.
    • shorten something to something Her name's Katherine, generally shortened to Kate.
    opposite lengthen
    Extra Examples
    • The course has now been shortened considerably.
    • The waiting time has been shortened dramatically from eight weeks to just one week.
    • They say that each cigarette you smoke shortens your life by five minutes.
    • The distance between the cars shortened.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • considerably
    • dramatically
    • drastically
    preposition
    • by
    • from
    • to
    See full entry
See shorten in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee shorten in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
trait
noun
 
 
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