1510s, "make shorter;" 1560s, "grow shorter," from short (adj.) + -en (1); the earlier form of the verb was simply short, from Old English sceortian "to grow short, become short; run short, fail," gescyrtan "to make short."
实用例句
1. As they shorten, cells become more prone to disease and death.
细胞变小后就会更容易感染疾病，也更容易死亡。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Her father paid £1,000 for an operation to shorten her nose.
她父亲花了1,000英镑给她做了削鼻手术。
来自柯林斯例句
3. When the days shorten in winter some people suffer depression.
