Shorts vs. Short — What's the Difference?

Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg, but not the foot.

Measuring a small distance from end to end

Having little length; not long.

Lasting or taking a small amount of time

Having little height; not tall.

Relatively small in extent

Extending or traveling not far or not far enough

(of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel /ʊ/ in good is short as distinct from the long vowel /uː/ in food).

Lasting a brief time

(of a person) terse; uncivil

Appearing to pass quickly

(of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability

Not lengthy; succinct

(of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.

Rudely brief; abrupt

(chiefly in sport) at, to, or over a relatively small distance

Easily provoked; irascible

A drink of spirits served in a small measure.

Inadequate; insufficient

A short film as opposed to a feature film.

Lacking in length or amount

A short sound such as a short signal in Morse code or a short vowel or syllable

Lacking in breadth or scope

A short circuit.

Deficient in retentiveness

A person who sells short.

Holding a trading position that is inversely related to the price of a security or index

A mixture of bran and coarse flour.

Of or relating to a short sale

Short-circuit or cause to short-circuit

Containing a large amount of shortening; flaky

Sell (stocks or other securities or commodities) in advance of acquiring them, with the aim of making a profit when the price falls

Not ductile; brittle

Having little length; not long.

(Linguistics) Of, relating to, or being a speech sound of relatively brief duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mălus, "evil," as compared with the same or a similar sound of relatively long duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mālus, "apple tree."

Having little height; not tall.

(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being a vowel sound in English, such as the vowel sound (ă) in pat or () in put, that is descended from a vowel of brief duration.

Extending or traveling not far or not far enough

Being of relatively brief duration. Used of a syllable in quantitative prosody.

Lasting a brief time

(Slang) Close to the end of a tour of military duty.

Appearing to pass quickly

Abruptly; quickly

Not lengthy; succinct

In a rude or curt manner.

Rudely brief; abrupt

At a point before a given boundary, limit, or goal

Easily provoked; irascible

At a disadvantage

Inadequate; insufficient

By means of a short sale

Lacking in length or amount

(Linguistics) A short syllable, vowel, or consonant.

Lacking in breadth or scope

A brief film; a short subject.

Deficient in retentiveness

A size of clothing less long than the average for that size.

Holding a trading position that is inversely related to the price of a security or index

Shorts Short pants extending to the knee or above.

Of or relating to a short sale

Shorts Undershorts.

Containing a large amount of shortening; flaky

A short sale.

Not ductile; brittle

One that sells short.

(Linguistics) Of, relating to, or being a speech sound of relatively brief duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mălus, "evil," as compared with the same or a similar sound of relatively long duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mālus, "apple tree."

Shorts A byproduct of wheat processing that consists of germ, bran, and coarse meal or flour.

(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being a vowel sound in English, such as the vowel sound (ă) in pat or () in put, that is descended from a vowel of brief duration.

Shorts Clippings or trimmings that remain as byproducts in various manufacturing processes, often used to make an inferior variety of the product.

Being of relatively brief duration. Used of a syllable in quantitative prosody.

A short circuit.

(Slang) Close to the end of a tour of military duty.

A malfunction caused by a short circuit.

Abruptly; quickly

(Baseball) A shortstop.

In a rude or curt manner.

To cause a short circuit in.

At a point before a given boundary, limit, or goal

(Informal) To give (one) less than one is entitled to; shortchange.

At a disadvantage

To short-sell (a security or index).

By means of a short sale

To short-circuit.

(Linguistics) A short syllable, vowel, or consonant.

Plural of short#Noun

A brief film; a short subject.

Pants or trousers worn for sports or in warmer weather that do not go lower than the knees.

A size of clothing less long than the average for that size.

(dated) underpants.

Shorts Short pants extending to the knee or above.

(uncountable) Remnants, clippings, trimmings of production processes.

Shorts Undershorts.

The part of milled grain sifted out which is next finer than the bran; pollard.

A short sale.

Short, inferior hemp.

One that sells short.

Trousers that end at or above the knee

Shorts A byproduct of wheat processing that consists of germ, bran, and coarse meal or flour.

(usually in the plural) underpants worn by men

Shorts Clippings or trimmings that remain as byproducts in various manufacturing processes, often used to make an inferior variety of the product.

A short circuit.

A malfunction caused by a short circuit.

(Baseball) A shortstop.

To cause a short circuit in.

(Informal) To give (one) less than one is entitled to; shortchange.

To short-sell (a security or index).

To short-circuit.

Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.

(of a person) Of comparatively small height.

Having little duration.

(followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).

That is relatively close to the batsman.

Bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.

That falls short of the green or the hole.

(gambling) Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.

Brittle, crumbly. See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust, shortening, hot short, cold-short.

Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant.

Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.

Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking.

Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.

(colloquial) Undiluted; neat.

(obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand.

(finance) Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.

(by extension) Doubtful of, skeptical of.

Of money: given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination.

Abruptly, curtly, briefly.

Unawares.

Without achieving a goal or requirement.

Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.

(finance) With a negative ownership position.

A short circuit.

A short film.

A short version of a garment in a particular size.

(baseball) A shortstop.

(finance) A short seller.

(finance) A short sale or short position.

A summary account.

(phonetics) A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

(programming) An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.

An automobile; especially in crack shorts, to break into automobiles.

(transitive) To cause a short circuit in (something).

To short circuit.

(transitive) To shortchange.

To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount.

To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short.

(obsolete) To shorten.

Deficient in.

(finance) Having a negative position in.

Not long; having brief length or linear extension; as, a short distance; a short piece of timber; a short flight.

Not extended in time; having very limited duration; not protracted; as, short breath.

Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty; as, a short supply of provisions, or of water.

Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied; scantily furnished; lacking; not coming up to a resonable, or the ordinary, standard; - usually with of; as, to be short of money.

Deficient; defective; imperfect; not coming up, as to a measure or standard; as, an account which is short of the trith.

Not distant in time; near at hand.

Limited in intellectual power or grasp; not comprehensive; narrow; not tenacious, as memory.

Less important, efficaceous, or powerful; not equal or equivalent; less (than); - with of.

Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant; as, he gave a short answer to the question.

Breaking or crumbling readily in the mouth; crisp; as, short pastry.

Brittle.

Not prolonged, or relatively less prolonged, in utterance; - opposed to long, and applied to vowels or to syllables. In English, the long and short of the same letter are not, in most cases, the long and short of the same sound; thus, the i in ill is the short sound, not of i in isle, but of ee in eel, and the e in pet is the short sound of a in pate, etc. See Quantity, and Guide to Pronunciation, 22, 30.

A summary account.

The part of milled grain sifted out which is next finer than the bran.

Short, inferior hemp.

Breeches; shortclothes.

A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

In a short manner; briefly; limitedly; abruptly; quickly; as, to stop short in one's course; to turn short.

To shorten.

To fail; to decrease.

The location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed

Accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference

The fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed between 2nd and 3rd base

Cheat someone by not returning him enough money

Create a short-circuit in

Primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration;

Primarily spatial sense; having little length or lacking in length;

Low in stature; not tall;

Not sufficient to meet a need;

Not holding securities or commodities that one sells in expectation of a fall in prices;

Of speech sounds (especially vowels) of relatively short duration (as e.g. the English vowel sounds in `pat', `pet', `pit', `pot', putt')

Containing a large amount of shortening; therefore tender and easy to crumble or break into flakes;

Less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so;

Used of syllables that are unaccented or of relatively brief duration

(of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range;

Lacking foresight or scope;

Unwilling to endure;

Quickly aroused to anger;

Most direct;

Marked by rude or peremptory shortness;

Quickly and without warning;

Without possessing something at the time it is contractually sold;

Clean across;

At some point or distance before a goal is reached;

So as to interrupt;

At a disadvantage;

Tightly;

In a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner;