shortened

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

short•en /ˈʃɔrtən/   v. 

1. to (cause to) become short or shorter: [~ + object]
   She had a hard time shortening her ten-page paper.
   [no object]
   The summer seemed to have shortened just as it was getting to be fun.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

short•en  (shôr′tn), v.t. 

1. to make short or shorter.
2. to reduce, decrease, take in, etc.:
   to shorten sail.
3. Food to make (pastry, bread, etc.) short, as with butter or other fat.
4. Sport choke (def. 8).

v.i. 

5. to become short or shorter.
6. (of odds) to decrease.

• short + -en¹ 1505–15

short′en•er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. condense, lessen, limit, restrict.
  Shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail mean to make shorter or briefer.
  Shorten is a general word meaning to make less in extent or duration:
  to shorten a dress, a prisoner's sentence.
  The other three terms suggest methods of shortening.
  To abbreviate is to make shorter by omission or contraction:
  to abbreviate a word.
  To abridge is to reduce in length or size by condensing, summarizing, and the like:
  to abridge a document.
  Curtail suggests deprivation and lack of completeness because of omitting some part:
  to curtail an explanation.
• 5. contract, lessen.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shorten / ˈʃɔːt^ən/ verb

1. to make or become short or shorter
2. (transitive) to reduce the area of (sail)
3. (transitive) to make (pastry, bread, etc) short, by adding butter or another fat
4. to cause (the odds) to lessen or (of odds) to become less