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.

---

Example Sentences

Tuchel's playing career was cut short by injury.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Tributes to Tinseltown's legendary daughter began on Sunday, with the Academy Museum opening "Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon," an exhibit celebrating her film career and life cut short.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

The session was also cut short on Wednesday evening following a crash at Crosby Leap involving the outfit of Ryan and Callum Crowe.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

The British guard played for the Oregon Ducks during the 2019-2020 season before it was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

She’d forced her family to cut short their vacation, agreed to go to a horrible school, and flown a helicopter into a monster battle just to see me.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

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