To shortchange someone means to give them less than they deserve or are owed. The word comes from the world of stores and cash registers: if you pay for something with a twenty-dollar bill and the cashier accidentally (or deliberately) gives you change for a ten, you've been shortchanged. You didn't get your full due.

But the word extends far beyond money. When a teacher spends all their time helping advanced students while ignoring struggling ones, those students are being shortchanged in their education. When you rush through your homework just to finish it, you're shortchanging yourself because you're not learning as much as you could. A coach who only plays their favorite athletes shortchanges the rest of the team.

The word carries a sense of injustice or loss. Someone who gets shortchanged doesn't receive what they fairly earned or what was promised to them. You might feel shortchanged if you worked hard on a group project but your partners took all the credit. The key idea is receiving less than the full measure of what should rightfully be yours, whether that's money, recognition, opportunity, or effort.