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

CEO Elon Musk then confirmed the mission had been postponed, following an announcement during a livestream of the event that it had been cut short.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 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 progress was cut short by the Vietnam War, and he enlisted pre-emptively in the Army in 1963, which let him pick a specialty: motion-picture combat photography.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

O'Neil will be backed and, having seen his time at Bournemouth and Wolves cut short, he has the perfect opportunity to re-establish himself in the Premier League.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Addie almost collides with her and I do a quick study of the two of them, both tall with big bones and their hair cut short almost the same way.

From "The Misfits" by James Howe

Related Words

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