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

Her teeth had fallen out when she returned and, after having her hair shaved or cut short after deportation, she never grew her hair out again.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Nick Reiner appeared wearing a yellow jail jumper with his hair cut short.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

He was elected prime minister in 2001 and again in 2005, and took himself into exile after his second term was cut short by a military coup.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

The disruption cut short what had already been an unusual Correspondents’ Dinner.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

Her skull ached with the impact, but Celaena’s cry of pain was cut short as she opened her eyes to the dark and saw what appeared.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Related Words

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