Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Short \Short\, a. [Compar. {Shorter}; superl. {Shortest}.] [OE.
   short, schort, AS. scort, sceort; akin to OHG. scurz, Icel.
   skorta to be short of, to lack, and perhaps to E. shear, v.
   t. Cf. {Shirt}.]
   1. Not long; having brief length or linear extension; as, a
      short distance; a short piece of timber; a short flight.

            The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch
            himself on it.                        --Isa. xxviii.
                                                  20.

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

            The life so short, the craft so long to learn.
                                                  --Chaucer.

            To short absense I could yield.       --Milton.

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

   4. 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.

            We shall be short in our provision.   --Shak.

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

   6. Not distant in time; near at hand.

            Marinell was sore offended That his departure thence
            should be so short.                   --Spenser.

            He commanded those who were appointed to attend him
            to be ready by a short day.           --Clarendon.

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

            Their own short understandings reach No farther than
            the present.                          --Rowe.

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

            Hardly anything short of an invasion could rouse
            them again to war.                    --Landor.

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

   10. (Cookery) Breaking or crumbling readily in the mouth;
       crisp; as, short pastry.

   11. (Metal) Brittle.

   Note: Metals that are brittle when hot are called ?ot-short;
         as, cast iron may be hot-short, owing to the presence
         of sulphur. Those that are brittle when cold are called
         cold-short; as, cast iron may be cold-short, on account
         of the presence of phosphorus.

   12. (Stock Exchange) Engaging or engaged to deliver what is
       not possessed; as, short contracts; to be short of stock.
       See The shorts, under {Short}, n., and To sell short,
       under {Short}, adv.

   Note: In mercantile transactions, a note or bill is sometimes
         made payable at short sight, that is, in a little time
         after being presented to the payer.

   13. (Phon.) 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, [sect][sect]22, 30.

   Note: Short is much used with participles to form numerous
         self-explaining compounds; as, short-armed,
         short-billed, short-fingered, short-haired,
         short-necked, short-sleeved, short-tailed,
         short-winged, short-wooled, etc.

   {At short notice}, in a brief time; promptly.

   {Short rib} (Anat.), one of the false ribs.

   {Short suit} (Whist), any suit having only three cards, or
      less than three. --R. A. Proctor.

   {To come short}, {To cut short}, {To fall short}, etc. See
      under {Come}, {Cut}, etc.

[Colloq.]

      An English tradesman is always solicitous to cut the shop
      whenever he can do so with impunity.        --Thomas
                                                  Hamilton.

   {To cut a caper}. See under {Caper}.

   {To cut the cards}, to divide a pack of cards into portions,
      in order to determine the deal or the trump, or to change
      the cards to be dealt.

   {To cut a dash} or {a figure}, to make a display. [Colloq.]
      

   {To cut down}.
      (a) To sever and cause to fall; to fell; to prostrate.
          ``Timber . . . cut down in the mountains of Cilicia.''
          --Knolles.
      (b) To put down; to abash; to humble. [Obs] ``So great is
          his natural eloquence, that he cuts doun the finest
          orator.'' --Addison
      (c) To lessen; to retrench; to curtail; as, to cut down
          expenses.
      (d) (Naut.) To raze; as, to cut down a frigate into a
          sloop.

   {To cut the knot} or {the Gordian knot}, to dispose of a
      difficulty summarily; to solve it by prompt, arbitrary
      action, rather than by skill or patience.

   {To cut lots}, to determine lots by cuttings cards; to draw
      lots.

   {To cut off}.
      (a) To sever; to separate.

                I would to God, . . . The king had cut off my
                brother's.                        --Shak.
      (b) To put an untimely death; to put an end to; to
          destroy. ``Iren[ae]us was likewise cut off by
          martyrdom.'' --Addison.
      (c) To interrupt; as, to cut off communication; to cut off
          (the flow of) steam from (the boiler to) a steam
          engine.
      (d) To intercept; as,, to cut off an enemy's retreat.
      (e) To end; to finish; as, to cut off further debate.

   {To cut out}.
      (a) To remove by cutting or carving; as, to cut out a
          piece from a board.
      (b) To shape or form by cutting; as, to cut out a garment.
          `` A large forest cut out into walks.'' --Addison.
      (c) To scheme; to contrive; to prepare; as, to cut out
          work for another day. ``Every man had cut out a place
          for himself.'' --Addison.
      (d) To step in and take the place of; to supplant; as, to
          cut out a rival. [Colloq.]
      (e) To debar. ``I am cut out from anything but common
          acknowledgments.'' --Pope.
      (f) To seize and carry off (a vessel) from a harbor, or
          from under the guns of an enemy.

   {To cut to pieces}.
      (a) To cut into pieces; as, to cut cloth to pieces.
      (b) To slaughter; as, to cut an army to pieces.

   {To cut a play} (Drama), to shorten it by leaving out
      passages, to adapt it for the stage.

   {To cut rates} (Railroads, etc.), to reduce the charges for
      transportation below the rates established between
      competing lines.

   {To cut short}, to arrest or check abruptly; to bring to a
      sudden termination. ``Achilles cut him short, and thus
      replied.'' --Dryden.

   {To cut stick}, to make off clandestinely or precipitately.
      [Slang]

   {To cut teeth}, to put forth teeth; to have the teeth pierce
      through the gum and appear.

   {To have cut one's eyeteeth}, to be sharp and knowing.
      [Colloq.]

   {To cut one's wisdom teeth}, to come to years of discretion.
      

   {To cut under}, to undersell; as, to cut under a competitor
      in trade.

   {To cut up}.
      (a) To cut to pieces; as, to cut up an animal, or bushes.
      (b) To damage or destroy; to injure; to wound; as, to cut
          up a book or its author by severe criticism. ``This
          doctrine cuts up all government by the roots.''
          --Locke.
      (c) To afflict; to discourage; to demoralize; as, the
          death of his friend cut him up terribly. [Colloq.]
          --Thackeray.