How to Use shorten in a Sentence

shorten

verb
Definition of shortennext
Synonyms for shortennext
  • He had to shorten the speech.
  • Both of their styles will chew the clock and shorten this game.
    — Doug Ziefel, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2022
  • The strength of the glue or even your skin type, as oily skin can break down the glue and shorten the hold.
    — Jazmine Boutte, StyleCaster, 7 Oct. 2024
  • By the end, he’s called Grand Elf, and shortens it to Gandalf.
    — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2024
  • McCormick shortened the name to just Pumpkin Spice in the 1960s.
    — Terry Baddoo, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2024
  • The move is clearly meant to shorten the show, which is scheduled to run for three hours.
    — oregonlive, 27 Mar. 2022
  • The chart above shows every single draft pick in the NBA since 1989, the year that the draft was shortened to just two rounds.
    — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 27 June 2024
  • Now, the asteroid’s 3.3-year trip around the sun has been shortened by about 24 days.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 6 July 2024
  • This gives you more room for games and will shorten game loading times.
    — Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 8 July 2022
  • The next best thing is to solidify your bullpen and shorten the game.
    — New York Times, 21 Mar. 2022
  • This drives the hot end against the block, enlarging it, and shortening the metal in the process.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Bergeron shortened that phrase to Mai Tai, and the rest is history.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
  • At that point, rotations had been shortened from three months to 45 days because of the high risk.
    — Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
  • But the idea of an over-the-counter way to shorten the misery of a common cold has proved wildly popular.
    — Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024
  • To fry the wonton wrappers, cut the squares into ½-inch strips, then cut those strips in half crosswise to shorten them.
    — Eric Kim, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2023
  • With Defy, the chain is looking to shorten the process to 2 minutes or less thanks to the multiple drive-thru lanes.
    — Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 7 June 2022
  • And a longer status report as of late has shortened the number of available players for the team.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 22 June 2024
  • The offense will have to lean on its explosive and consistent run game to score points and shorten the game.
    — Lance Reisland, cleveland, 14 Sep. 2022
  • The most aggressive way to shorten a battery’s life is to charge it very quickly.
    — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 13 May 2022
  • Last season was shortened by the actors' and writers' strikes last year.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
  • Music may offer catharsis of all kinds, but sweet sounds won’t shorten the long road ahead.
    — Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2022
  • Julie’s seven-year sentence, on the other hand, was shortened by 14 months.
    — Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Almost every disable in the game has also been shortened to quicken up the pace of fights.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Zoom out: Like Philly, some neighboring states have shortened school days — and even school years in response to heat.
    — Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 13 Aug. 2024
  • It was shortened to La Mesa when a post office was established in 1891.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Banks’ decision to shorten the grace period comes as the incidence of check fraud grows in the U.S.
    — Alana Semuels, TIME, 13 June 2024
  • Running 8 volts through 6-volt components will put some stress on them and might shorten their lives a bit.
    — Ray Magliozzi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2022
  • To shorten your cooking time, remove a bag of frozen chicken the night before and allow to defrost in the fridge overnight.
    — Robin Miller, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2022
  • Russell Reynolds indicated that tenures may be shortening due to burnout as well.
    — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2024
  • And that can create imbalances, since the neck and face muscles on the side you’re turned toward will shorten and the ones on the opposite side will lengthen in response, Dr. Harding explains.
    — Jenny McCoy, SELF, 23 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shorten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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