shorten
To make something take less time or space
Examples
In a meeting
“Can we shorten the meeting to 30 minutes instead of an hour?”
Over coffee
“I'm going to shorten my workout today since I'm running late.”
Why this word
reduce
Shorten specifically decreases length or duration, reduce is general decrease in any dimension
cut
Shorten is precise about making length less, cut can mean various forms of removal
abbreviate
Shorten is general length reduction, abbreviate specifically means condensing by removing parts
Usage tip
Use for reducing duration or length; more direct than 'reduce the time of'
Etymology
Old English sceort (short) + -en (verb suffix meaning to make)
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Related words
streamline
To make a process or system more efficient by simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps.
eliminate
To completely remove or get rid of something.
simplify
To make something easier to understand or do
adjourn
To pause or end a meeting with intention to resume later
centralize
To bring together or concentrate control in one location or authority
batch
To group similar tasks together to handle them all at once