Shorter
adjectiveHaving less length, height, distance, or duration than something else.
How to spell shorter
7 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce shorter
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does shorter mean?
- adjectiveHaving less length, height, distance, or duration than something else.
Shorter in a sentence
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The new route home is shorter than the motorway.
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She chose the shorter skirt for the warmer weather.
Where does shorter come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Shorter is the comparative form of the adjective 'short', a native English word that descends from the Old English 'sceort', meaning 'not long' or 'cut off'. That word traces back to a Germanic root tied to the idea of something cut or trimmed, related to the same family that gives us 'shear' and 'shirt'. The comparative ending '-er', used to mean 'more', is one of the oldest grammatical suffixes in English and was already in place in Old English. Over the centuries the spelling settled with the silent-feeling double link of 't' simply joining to '-er', so no letters are added or dropped. Because the base word is so familiar, the comparative is regular and rarely causes spelling trouble.
How the word is built
- short (root: of small length or duration)
- -er (comparative suffix)
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