Meaning & use
short description
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A few lines or sentences that tell people the main points about something without going into detail.
Grammar: Countable: write a short description, two short descriptions.
Patterns
- a short description of something
- give a short description
Please write a short description of your project in two sentences.
The online shop gives a short description under each photo.
Her short description of the missing dog helped the neighbors recognize him.
nouncountablecomputing
A brief text field or summary line attached to a page, file or product listing that tells readers what it is.
Grammar: Often used in websites and software forms: fill in the short description box.
Patterns
- the short description field
- add a short description
The form asks for a short description of the file.
Search engines often show the short description below the title of a page.
I forgot to add a short description to my video upload.
Word forms
| plural | short descriptions |
|---|
Common combinations
- write a short description
- Write a short description of your hobby for the school newsletter.
- provide a short description
- Applicants must provide a short description of their experience.
- a short description of
- The brochure includes a short description of every course.
- a short description on the label
- The label carries a short description of the ingredients.
- short description field
- The short description field allows only one hundred characters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- summary
- A summary condenses something that already exists, such as a book, while a short description can introduce something new.
- outline
- An outline lists the main points or sections in order, whereas a short description usually reads as plain sentences.
- blurb
- A blurb is a short promotional text, so it is designed to attract buyers, which a short description need not be.
- overview
- An overview gives the general picture of a subject, often a little longer and more structured than a short description.
Opposites
Word family
- describe verb
- to say what someone or something is like
- description noun
- an account of what something or someone is like
- descriptive adjective
- giving details about what something is like
- descriptively adverb
- in a way that describes something
Commonly confused: short description or definition?
short description vs definition
A definition explains the exact meaning of a word or term. A short description just tells what something is like or contains.
Practice
The form asked me to give a ___ of my business, so I wrote two lines.
Choose one answer.
A short description is a brief account of the main points, which matches writing only two lines. A detailed report, a transcript or a manual would each be far longer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “short description”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.