cut short

Idioms  

1. Abbreviate, stop abruptly, as in The thunderstorm cut short our picnic, or She cut her short, saying she'd already heard the story of their breakup. Shakespeare used this term to mean “put a sudden end to someone's life”: “Rather than bloody war shall cut them short” (2 Henry VI, 4:4), a less common usage today. The broader usage dates from the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cut short

Shortly after the attack the festivities were cut short, with revellers requested to leave the area.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Together, they form a rich yet incomplete portrait of an existence cut short, which McElwee hopes to broaden by weaving in meaning from before and after Adrian’s life, all captured by McElwee’s omnipresent camera.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Mike Webb cut short a family fishing outing last week after a 200-pounder approached, minutes after Webb’s 11-year-old son caught something.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

An online fundraiser said the injured passengers were Lopez’s children and described her as “a loving mother whose life was cut short far too soon.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

His hair, cut short apart from two thick strands hanging over his forehead, was fair.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Related Words

• abort
• break off
• curtail
• halt
• hinder
• interrupt
• postpone
• quit
• shorten
• terminate