short·en /ˈʃɔrtṇ/
 (vt.)弄短,縮短,減少(vi.)縮小,變短


 Short·en v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shortened; p. pr. & vb. n. Shortening.]
 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.


 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.

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 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]