Shortness is the quality of being short, which can describe several different things.

When talking about height, shortness means being closer to the ground than average. A child might feel self-conscious about their shortness compared to classmates, but height varies enormously among people and changes throughout childhood. Many successful athletes, leaders, and adventurers have been short in stature.

Shortness can also describe time or length. The shortness of summer vacation makes each day feel more precious. A teacher might comment on the shortness of your essay if you were supposed to write three pages but only wrote one. In these cases, shortness means something is briefer or smaller than expected or needed.

The phrase shortness of breath describes difficulty breathing, like when you've been running hard and can't quite catch your breath. It's that feeling of needing more air than you can seem to pull in.

People also use shortness to describe being abrupt or impatient with others. If someone answers questions with unusual shortness, they might snap “Fine!” or “Whatever!” instead of having a real conversation. This kind of shortness can signal that someone is frustrated, tired, or upset, even if they don't say so directly.