shortlist

«shortlist» in Mova's school dictionary: a small list of the best people or things, chosen from a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a shortlist, shortlists); verb (shortlist, shortlists, shortlisted, shortlisting)

meaning for a pupil

1) A shortlist is a small list of the best people or things, chosen from a bigger group, from which the final winner will be picked. tree →

2) To shortlist someone or something is to put them on that list. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used for prizes, jobs and competitions: a book is shortlisted for an award, a person is shortlisted for a job interview. In school, poems or posters may be shortlisted for a competition. It tells the reader that something is close to winning but has not won yet. Phrases: «on the shortlist», «make the shortlist», «be shortlisted for».

examples

• Three stories made the shortlist for the writing prize. tree →
• My poster was shortlisted, but it did not win. tree →
• The company shortlisted five people for interview. tree →
• We drew up a shortlist of names for the new puppy. tree →
• The book has been shortlisted for a big award. tree →
• Out of fifty songs, the judges chose a shortlist of six. tree →

note

Also written «short list» or «short-list». Regular verb: shortlisted, shortlisting. Being shortlisted is good news but not winning; the final choice comes after. Do not confuse it with «a short list» meaning just a list that is not long.

In the corpora

• Parents often make a shortlist of names, and the name must be registered officially within a few weeks of the birth.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «shortlist» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.