shorttime

Shorttime is a term used to denote a brief period of time. In everyday language, it describes a small duration, as in “I’ll be back in short time.” The form varies by usage; it may appear as short-time, short time, or, in some technical contexts, as a concatenated word such as “shorttime” in identifiers.

In signal processing and time-frequency analysis, short-time describes methods that analyze short segments of a signal. Notable concepts include short-time energy and the short-time Fourier transform, which use a sliding window to study how frequency content evolves over time.

In labor economics, short-time or short-time working refers to temporarily reduced work hours to avoid layoffs during downturns, sometimes supported by government schemes or employer contributions.

In general use, “short time” is the standard two-word form; “shorttime” is uncommon outside specific technical terms or brand names.

Related concepts include short-term, momentary, and instantaneous, as well as the STFT and other windowed analyses in signal processing. The term’s exact meaning is context-dependent and may vary between everyday language, engineering, and economic policy.