shorten
/ˈʃɔːtən/verb
1- make or become shorter缩短：
with obj. he shortened his stride他缩短了他的步幅
patients whose waiting time had been shortened
候诊的时间被缩短了的病人
no obj. as skirts shortened, so heels rose由于裙子缩短了, 因而鞋跟增高了
around mid September, days shorten and temperatures dip.
9月中旬左右, 白昼缩短, 气温降低。
1.1
- with obj. Sailing reduce the amount of (sail spread)【航海】缩（帆）。
1.2
- (with reference to gambling odds) make or become shorter; decrease（赌博赔率）缩小; 减少：
with obj. Ladbrokes shortened Nashwan's odds from 2-1 to 7-4立博博彩公司缩小了赛马“那时还”的赌博赔率, 从2比1减至7比4
no obj. the odds had shortened to 14-1.赔率减少至14比1。
1.3
- with obj. Prosody & Phonetics make (a vowel or syllable) short【诗韵, 语音】使（元音, 音节）发短音。