Less vs. Short — What's the Difference?

Comparatively lower in amount or degree.

Measuring a small distance from end to end.

Suitable for describing non-countable concepts.

Describing something not reaching a desired or usual standard.

Can modify verbs to denote decreased frequency or intensity.

Often relates to physical proximity or immediate occurrences.

Often paired with "than" in comparisons.

Used to express a lack of something quantifiable.

Used to indicate reduction or deficiency.

Limited in time, brief duration.

Not as great in amount or quantity

Measuring a small distance from end to end

Lower in importance, esteem, or rank

Lasting or taking a small amount of time

Consisting of a smaller number.

Relatively small in extent

With the deduction of; minus

(of a vowel) categorized as short with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel /ʊ/ in good is short as distinct from the long vowel /uː/ in food).

To a smaller extent, degree, or frequency

(of a person) terse; uncivil

A smaller amount

(of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a high level of probability

Something not as important as something else

(of pastry) containing a high proportion of fat to flour and therefore crumbly.

Comparative of little

(chiefly in sport) at, to, or over a relatively small distance

Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.

A drink of spirits served in a small measure.

To a smaller extent or degree.

A short film as opposed to a feature film.

(Now chiefly of numbers or dimensions) little; of inferior size, degree or extent; smaller, lesser.

A short sound such as a short signal in Morse code or a short vowel or syllable

A smaller amount of; not as much.

A short circuit.

Fewer; a smaller number of.

A person who sells short.

Minus; not including

A mixture of bran and coarse flour.

(archaic) To make less; to lessen.

Short-circuit or cause to short-circuit

(archaic) Lesser; smaller.

Sell (stocks or other securities or commodities) in advance of acquiring them, with the aim of making a profit when the price falls

A smaller amount or quantity.

Having little length; not long.

Unless

Having little height; not tall.

Unless.

Extending or traveling not far or not far enough

Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size or value; in less time than before.

Lasting a brief time

Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or loud; less beautiful.

Appearing to pass quickly

A smaller portion or quantity.

Not lengthy; succinct

The inferior, younger, or smaller.

Rudely brief; abrupt

To make less; to lessen.

Easily provoked; irascible

(comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree;

Inadequate; insufficient

(usually preceded by `no') lower in quality;

Lacking in length or amount

(usually preceded by `no') lower in esteem;

Lacking in breadth or scope

(nonstandard in some uses but often idiomatic with measure phrases) fewer;

Deficient in retentiveness

Used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs;

Holding a trading position that is inversely related to the price of a security or index

Comparative of little;

Of or relating to a short sale

Containing a large amount of shortening; flaky

Not ductile; brittle

(Linguistics) Of, relating to, or being a speech sound of relatively brief duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mălus, "evil," as compared with the same or a similar sound of relatively long duration, as the first vowel sound in the Latin word mālus, "apple tree."

(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being a vowel sound in English, such as the vowel sound (ă) in pat or () in put, that is descended from a vowel of brief duration.

Being of relatively brief duration. Used of a syllable in quantitative prosody.

(Slang) Close to the end of a tour of military duty.

Abruptly; quickly

In a rude or curt manner.

At a point before a given boundary, limit, or goal

At a disadvantage

By means of a short sale

(Linguistics) A short syllable, vowel, or consonant.

A brief film; a short subject.

A size of clothing less long than the average for that size.

Shorts Short pants extending to the knee or above.

Shorts Undershorts.

A short sale.

One that sells short.

Shorts A byproduct of wheat processing that consists of germ, bran, and coarse meal or flour.

Shorts Clippings or trimmings that remain as byproducts in various manufacturing processes, often used to make an inferior variety of the product.

A short circuit.

A malfunction caused by a short circuit.

(Baseball) A shortstop.

To cause a short circuit in.

(Informal) To give (one) less than one is entitled to; shortchange.

To short-sell (a security or index).

To short-circuit.

Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically.

(of a person) Of comparatively small height.

Having little duration.

(followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another).

That is relatively close to the batsman.

Bowled so that it bounces relatively far from the batsman.

That falls short of the green or the hole.

(gambling) Of betting odds, offering a small return for the money wagered.

Brittle, crumbly. See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust, shortening, hot short, cold-short.

Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant.

Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty.

Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied, especially with money; scantily furnished; lacking.

Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard.

(colloquial) Undiluted; neat.

(obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand.

(finance) Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future.

(by extension) Doubtful of, skeptical of.

Of money: given in the fewest possible notes, i.e. those of the largest denomination.

Abruptly, curtly, briefly.

Unawares.

Without achieving a goal or requirement.

Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full.

(finance) With a negative ownership position.

A short circuit.

A short film.

A short version of a garment in a particular size.

(baseball) A shortstop.

(finance) A short seller.

(finance) A short sale or short position.

A summary account.

(phonetics) A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

(programming) An integer variable having a smaller range than normal integers; usually two bytes long.

An automobile; especially in crack shorts, to break into automobiles.

(transitive) To cause a short circuit in (something).

To short circuit.

(transitive) To shortchange.

To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount.

To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short.

(obsolete) To shorten.

Deficient in.

(finance) Having a negative position in.

Not long; having brief length or linear extension; as, a short distance; a short piece of timber; a short flight.

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

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

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.

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

Not distant in time; near at hand.

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

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

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

Breaking or crumbling readily in the mouth; crisp; as, short pastry.

Brittle.

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, 22, 30.

A summary account.

The part of milled grain sifted out which is next finer than the bran.

Short, inferior hemp.

Breeches; shortclothes.

A short sound, syllable, or vowel.

In a short manner; briefly; limitedly; abruptly; quickly; as, to stop short in one's course; to turn short.

To shorten.

To fail; to decrease.

The location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed

Accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference

The fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed between 2nd and 3rd base

Cheat someone by not returning him enough money

Create a short-circuit in

Primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration;

Primarily spatial sense; having little length or lacking in length;

Low in stature; not tall;

Not sufficient to meet a need;

Not holding securities or commodities that one sells in expectation of a fall in prices;

Of speech sounds (especially vowels) of relatively short duration (as e.g. the English vowel sounds in `pat', `pet', `pit', `pot', putt')

Containing a large amount of shortening; therefore tender and easy to crumble or break into flakes;

Less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so;

Used of syllables that are unaccented or of relatively brief duration

(of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range;

Lacking foresight or scope;

Unwilling to endure;

Quickly aroused to anger;

Most direct;

Marked by rude or peremptory shortness;

Quickly and without warning;

Without possessing something at the time it is contractually sold;

Clean across;

At some point or distance before a goal is reached;

So as to interrupt;

At a disadvantage;

Tightly;

In a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner;

Not always; it can also refer to durations, like a short meeting.

"Less" is for non-countable items, while "fewer" is correct for countable items.

"Less" can be an adverb or adjective, while "short" is typically an adjective.

Yes, such as in "a short wait" or "a short distance to travel."

"Less" indicates a smaller amount or degree, while "short" describes something with limited length or duration.

No, they serve different contexts; "less" for quantitative comparisons, "short" for physical or temporal attributes.

It can denote a decrease in the frequency or intensity of an action, e.g., "talk less."

Less importance, less interest—these show qualitative reductions.

Short story, short trip, short term—these all denote limited extents or durations.

It can imply insufficiency or reduction, often signaling a negative aspect.