[] () () a situation in which workers work fewer hours than usual when there are not enough orders, materials, etc., so that they can keep their jobs 短工时；开工不足◆Staff at the factory have been put on short time. 这家工厂的员工实行短时工作制。◆They have avoided redundancies by introducing short-time working. 他们通过采用短时工作制而避免了裁员。