Make shorter using a spanner (7)

I believe the answer is:

abridge

'make shorter' is the definition.

'a spanner?' is the wordplay.
'spanner?' becomes 'bridge' (I've seen this before).
'a'+'bridge'='ABRIDGE'

'using' is the link.

(Other definitions for abridge that I've seen before include "Remove sections" , "Crop" , "Curtail" , "Big read (anag) - shorten text" , "Shorten by using fewer words" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Sun.

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