short notice

English

Noun

short notice (uncountable)

1. very little warning or preparation time.
   • 1961 November, “Talking of Trains: "Blue trains" run again”, in Trains Illustrated, page 644:

     This was first introduced on November 7, 1960, but suspended on December 17 because of defects which caused explosions, and a steam service substituted at short notice, as described in our July issue.

   • February 23, 1966, Byron White, Brown v. Louisiana

     it is difficult to believe that if this group had been white its members would have been asked to leave on such short notice, much less asked to leave by the sheriff and arrested, rather than merely escorted from the building, when reluctance to leave was demonstrated.

   • 2020 March 25, “Network News: Stop Press”, in RAIL, page 6:

     South Western Railway warned passengers of short-notice cancellations to services.

   • 2024 September 4, Vitali Vitaliev, “A salute to Ukraine's 'Second Army'”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 49:

     "Owing to the ongoing conflict, all rail services are subject to change on a short notice," warns the European Rail Timetable at the end of its short entry on the general state of Ukraine's railways.

Usage notes

In American English, the preferred preposition is "on short notice", while in British English it is "at short notice"

References

• “short notice” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “short notice” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “at short notice”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “at short notice”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “at short notice” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “at short notice”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.