caught short

Idioms  

1. Found to be lacking something one needs, especially money, as in Can you pay the check? I seem to be caught short. This idiom uses short in the sense of “lacking money,” a usage dating from the early 1500s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caught short

“TIPS are too far out,” he said, and if they’re not holding to maturity, he doesn’t want clients to get caught short if they have to buy or sell.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

Anyone caught short on a day like that risked being crushed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025

"If you aren't aware of that, you could be caught short without the right gear," she said.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2025

If Bass and other leaders want to make up for being clearly caught short, they need to offer more, and clearer, information.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025

For a girl who’d spent her whole life perfecting the art of arguing—with my brothers, my mother, my mule, and until just a few months ago with my daddy—suddenly I was caught short.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan