Shortest word, by character count
The shortest word is the match of \b[\w']+\b with the smallest length. The output is one line: Shortest word: "WORD" (N characters). If the input has no words, the output is No words found. Common short answers in English are 1- and 2-letter words like a, I, is, of, to.
Ties are broken by first-encountered. The reduction iterates left-to-right and only replaces the running shortest when a strictly shorter word is seen. So in "of to" the answer is of, not to, because they tie at length 2 and of came first.
Hyphens break words. Apostrophes are inside words. Numbers count as words. For the matching longest tool, see find longest word; for the average across the whole input, see average word length.
How to use find the shortest word
- 1Paste or type your text into the input panel on the left.
- 2The shortest word and its length appear in the output panel as you type.
- 3Click Copy in the output header to copy the result.
- 4Click Download to save it as a plain-text file.
- 5Run find longest word alongside for the opposite end.
Keyboard shortcuts
Drive TextResult without touching the mouse.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl F | Open the find & replace panel inside the input Plus |
| Ctrl Z | Undo the last input change |
| Ctrl Shift Z | Redo |
| Ctrl Shift Enter | Toggle fullscreen focus on the editor Plus |
| Esc | Close find & replace, or exit fullscreen |
| Ctrl K | Open the command palette to jump to any tool Plus |
| Ctrl S | Save current workflow draft Plus |
| Ctrl P | Run a saved workflow Plus |
What this tool actually does
Tokenizes on \b[\w']+\b
A word is a run of \w with optional internal apostrophes. Hyphens break words. Numbers count.
Length in JavaScript code units
The character count is String.length. For Latin text this matches the hand-count of letters; surrogate-pair characters (rare in word matches) would count as two.
Ties go to the first-encountered word
A reduce-from-left tracks the running shortest. It is only replaced when a strictly shorter word is seen, so the leftmost word in a length tie wins.
No-words case
If there are no matches (empty input, punctuation-only), the output is No words found. with no quoted word.
Runs entirely in your browser
No upload, no logging. The result updates on every keystroke.
Worked example
Every word in this sentence is at least 3 characters; The wins by being first. Add the word a anywhere and the result becomes Shortest word: "a" (1 characters).
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Shortest word: "The" (3 characters)
Settings reference
| Behaviour | Value |
|---|---|
| Word definition | \b[\w']+\b. |
| Length unit | JavaScript String.length. |
| Tie-break | First-encountered wins. |
| Output format | Shortest word: "WORD" (N characters). |
| No-words input | No words found. |
| Hyphenated terms | Split into separate words on the hyphen. |
FAQ
What if several words tie for shortest?
Does "a" always win?
I would also tie at length 1; the first occurrence wins.What about hyphenated words?
state-of-the-art contributes state, of, the, art. The shortest is of or the (tie, leftmost wins).What does the tool report on empty input?
No words found. The same message appears for punctuation-only or whitespace-only inputs.