1. (

• shorten ,

) make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration; "He shortened his trip due to illness" ;

2. (

• abridge ,
• foreshorten ,
• abbreviate ,
• shorten ,
• cut ,
• contract ,
• reduce ,

) reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" ;

3. (

• shorten ,

) make short or shorter; "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the rope by a few inches" ;

4. (

• shorten

) become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten" ;

5. (

• bowdlerize ,
• bowdlerise ,
• expurgate ,
• castrate ,
• shorten ,

) edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel" ;

1. (

• sawed-off ,
• sawn-off ,
• shortened ,

) cut short; "a sawed-off shotgun"; "a sawed-off broomstick"; "the shortened rope was easier to use" ;

2. (

• abbreviated ,
• shortened ,
• truncated

) cut short in duration; "the abbreviated speech"; "her shortened life was clearly the result of smoking"; "an unsatisfactory truncated conversation" ;

3. (

• telescoped ,
• shortened ,

) shortened by or as if by means of parts that slide one within another or are crushed one into another; "a miracle that anyone survived in the telescoped cars"; "years that seemed telescoped like time in a dream" ;

4. (

• cut ,
• shortened

) with parts removed; "the drastically cut film" ;