Small vs Short - What's the difference?
small | short |
Not large or big; insignificant; few in numbers or size.
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(writing, incomparable) Minuscule or lowercase, referring to written letters.
Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; paltry; mean.
* Carlyle
Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short.
In a small fashion.
* (William Shakespeare), (w, A Midsummer Night's Dream) , Act I, scene 2, line 49:
In or into small pieces.
* 2009 , Ingrid Hoffman, CBS Early Morning for September 28, 2009 (transcription)
(obsolete) To a small extent.
* (rfdate) (William Shakespeare), Sonnets , "Lucrece", line 1273
Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.
(UK, in the plural) Underclothes.
(obsolete) To make little or less.
To become small; to dwindle.
* Thomas Hardy
Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.
(of a person) Of comparatively little height.
Having little duration; opposite of long.
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Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).
(cricket, Of a ball) that bounced relatively far from the batsman.
(cricket, Of a fielder or fielding position) that is relatively close to the batsman.
Brittle (of pastry, and some metals); see also shortening, shortcrust.
Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant.
Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.
Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied; scantily furnished; lacking.
Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.
* Landor
(obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand.
* Spenser
* Clarendon
In a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.
Abruptly, curtly, briefly.
Unawares.
Without achieving a goal or requirement.
(cricket, of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball) 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.
* 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift [http://www.avclub.com/articles/ice-age-continental-drift,82358/]
(Used to indicate a short-length version of a size)
(baseball) A shortstop.
(finance) A short seller.
(finance) A short sale.
A summary account.
* Shakespeare
(phonetics) A short sound, syllable, or vowel.
* H. Sweet
(label) An shorter than normal integers; usually two bytes long.
To cause a in (something).
Of an electrical circuit, to .
To shortchange.
To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount.
(business) 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.
Short is a synonym of small.
In obsolete terms the difference between small and short
is that small is to a small extent while short is to shorten.In intransitive terms the difference between small and short
is that small is to become small; to dwindle while short is of an electrical circuit, to short circuit.As adjectives the difference between small and short
is that small is not large or big; insignificant; few in numbers or size while short is having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.As adverbs the difference between small and short
is that small is in a small fashion while short is abruptly, curtly, briefly.As nouns the difference between small and short
is that small is any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back while short is a short circuit.As verbs the difference between small and short
is that small is to make little or less while short is to cause a short circuit in (something).As proper nouns the difference between small and short
is that small is {{surname} while Short is {{surname}.As a preposition short is
deficient in.small
English
Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.}}
Engineers of a different kind, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}
- A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the greatest man.
- a small space of time
Synonyms
* (not large or big) little, microscopic, minuscule, minute, tiny; see also * little, wee (Scottish), young * (of written letters) lowercase, minusculeAntonyms
* See also * (not large or big) capital, big, generous (said of an amount of something given), large * adult, grown-up, old * (of written letters) big, capital, majuscule, uppercaseDerived terms
* small arm * small arms * small beer * small calorie * small-cell lung cancer * small change * small claims court * smallclothes * smaller European elm bark beetle * small forward * small fry * smallgoods * smallholder * smallholding * small hours * small intestine * smallish * small-minded * smallmouth * smallmouth bass * smallmouth black bass * smallness * small potatoes * smallpox * smalls * small-scale * small screen * small stuff * smallsword * small talk * small-time * * small wonder * twice as small * twice as small asAdverb
(er)- That's all one: you shall play it in a mask, and / you may speak as small as you will.
- That's going to go in there. We've got some chives small chopped as well.
- It small avails my mood.
Derived terms
* writ smallNoun
(en noun)Derived terms
* small of the backVerb
(en verb)- And smalled till she was nought at all.
Statistics
*short
English
(wikipedia short)Adjective
(er)citation, passage=Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.}}
- Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it's been at least twenty minutes long.
- “Phone” is short''' for “telephone” and "asap" '''short for "as soon as possible".
- He gave a short answer to the question.
- a short supply of provisions
- to be short of money
- The cashier came up short ten dollars on his morning shift.
- an account which is short of the truth
- Hardly anything short of an invasion could rouse them again to war.
- Marinell was sore offended / That his departure thence should be so short .
- He commanded those who were appointed to attend him to be ready by a short day.
- I'm short General Motors because I think their sales are plunging.
Usage notes
* (having a small distance between ends or edges) (term) is often used in the positive vertical dimension and used as is (shallow) in the negative vertical dimension; in the horizontal dimension (narrow) is more commonly used.Synonyms
* (having a small distance between ends or edges) low, narrow, slim, shallow * little, pint-sized, petite, titchy (slang) * (having little duration) brief, concise * an abbreviation of, a short form ofAntonyms
* (having a small distance between ends or edges) tall, high, wide, broad, deep, long * tall * (having little duration) long * longAdverb
(-)- They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street.
- He cut me short repeatedly in the meeting.
- The boss got a message and cut the meeting short .
- The recent developments at work caught them short .
- His speech fell short of what was expected.
- We went short most finance companies in July.
Noun
(en noun)- Preceded by a Simpsons short shot in 3-D—perhaps the only thing more superfluous than a fourth Ice Age movie—Ice Age: Continental Drift finds a retinue of vaguely contemporaneous animals coping with life in the post-Pangaea age.
- 38 short suits fit me right off the rack.
- Do you have that size in a short .
- Jones smashes a grounder between third and short .
- The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne.
- He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months.
- The short and the long is, our play is preferred.
- If we compare the nearest conventional shorts and longs in English, as in "bit" and "beat", "not" and "naught", we find that the short vowels are generally wide, the long narrow, besides being generally diphthongic as well.
Verb
(en verb)- This is the third time I've caught them shorting us.
Preposition
(English prepositions)- We are short a few men on the second shift.
- He's short common sense.
- I don't want to be short the market going into the weekend.