short story
noun
: an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot
Examples of short story in a Sentence
her very first short story was accepted for publication in a local journal
Recent Examples on the Web
The film was penned by Ben Shattuck, adapted from his own award-winning short story.
—
Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Reignite creativity by making something useless—a haiku poem about your morning coffee, a sculpture of yourself, a short story intended for no audience.
—Dale Whelehan, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
The 15-second commercial, which aired in top markets during the Super Bowl, invited viewers to email Murray to receive a fun, short story in their inboxes.
—Sara Fischer, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
The play, which features a rotating cast acting out short stories, brought in $1.1 million last week, with a cast including Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Tim Meadows and David Cross.
—Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for short story 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Reignite creativity by making something useless—a haiku poem about your morning coffee, a sculpture of yourself, a short story intended for no audience.
—Dale Whelehan, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
The 15-second commercial, which aired in top markets during the Super Bowl, invited viewers to email Murray to receive a fun, short story in their inboxes.
—Sara Fischer, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
The play, which features a rotating cast acting out short stories, brought in $1.1 million last week, with a cast including Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Tim Meadows and David Cross.
—Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for short story
Dictionary Entries Near short story
Cite this Entry
“Short story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short%20story. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share