shortlist

shortlist is the alternative form of short list.

Meaning of short list

short list (plural short lists)

A list of candidates selected from a longer list, and from which one or more successful candidates are in turn selected.
(broadly) A list of the highest-ranked (most important) items from a longer list.

Synonyms:

hotlist
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see short, list.

shortlist (third-person singular simple present shortlists, present participle shortlisting, simple past and past participle shortlisted)

To place something on a short list.
- First and Trenitalia were initially shortlisted for the East Midlands franchise but withdrew from bidding to focus on the West Coast Partnership, while Trenitalia was shortlisted as a sole entity for the South Eastern franchise but again withdrew from the competition.2019 October, “First Trenitalia wins West Coast Partnership”, in Modern Railways, page 11

Noun
plural	shortlists
alternative form	short-list
Verb
third-person singular present	shortlists
present participle	shortlisting
past participle	shortlisted
past	shortlisted

What does shortlist mean?: Shortlist means to place something on a short list.
What is shortlist the alternative form of?: Shortlist is the alternative form of short list.
What part of speech is shortlist?: Shortlist is a verb.
What is the past tense of shortlist?: The past tense of shortlist is shortlisted.

Adapted from Wiktionary: shortlist (page history and authors); short list (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “shortlist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shortlist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.