Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shorten \Short"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shortened ?}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Shortening}.] [See {Short}, a.]
   1. To make short or shorter in measure, extent, or time; as,
      to shorten distance; to shorten a road; to shorten days of
      calamity.

   2. To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to
      lessen; to abridge; to curtail; to contract; as, to
      shorten work, an allowance of food, etc.

            Here, where the subject is so fruitful, I am
            shortened by my chain.                --Dryden.

   3. To make deficient (as to); to deprive; -- with of.

            Spoiled of his nose, and shortened of his ears.
                                                  --Dryden.

   4. To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard,
      pot liquor, or the like.

   {To shorten a rope} (Naut.), to take in the slack of it.

   {To shorten sail} (Naut.), to reduce sail by taking it in.

Shorten \Short"en\, v. i.
   To become short or shorter; as, the day shortens in northern
   latitudes from June to December; a metallic rod shortens by
   cold.

Source : WordNet®

shorten
     v 1: make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in
          length or duration; "He shortened his trip due to
          illness" [ant: {lengthen}]
     2: reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The
        manuscript must be shortened" [syn: {abridge}, {foreshorten},
         {abbreviate}, {cut}, {contract}, {reduce}] [ant: {elaborate}]
     3: make short or shorter; "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the
        rope by a few inches"
     4: become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten" [ant:
         {lengthen}]
     5: edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate;
        "bowdlerize a novel" [syn: {bowdlerize}, {bowdlerise}, {expurgate},
         {castrate}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Shorten
     
         A form of {lossless} {audio}
        {compression}.
     
        [Details?]
     
        (2001-12-17)