shortest

Shortest is the superlative form of the adjective short. It denotes the minimal length, duration, or extent within a defined set of candidates. The concept requires a comparison class and a measurable quantity.

In geometry, the shortest distance between two points in Euclidean space is the straight line segment joining them. On curved surfaces, locally shortest routes are geodesics; a globally shortest path may be longer than other routes if the space has multiple geodesics or constraints.

In computer science, the shortest path problem asks for a path with minimum total weight between two vertices in a weighted graph. Algorithms include Dijkstra's algorithm for graphs with non-negative weights, Bellman-Ford for graphs with possible negative weights, and A* for guided search. For unweighted graphs, breadth-first search yields the path with the fewest edges.

In physics, Fermat's principle states that light travels along paths that minimize travel time in a given medium, a principle that leads to optical laws such as Snell's law.

In everyday use, "shortest" appears in contexts such as time durations, routes, or life spans, and in specific terms such as "shortest job first" scheduling in operating systems.

The concept of "shortest" is relational; it depends on the defined set and metric used to measure length, time, or other quantities.