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

The September test flight, its 14th from its south Texas launch site, sent the rocket into orbit for the first time but was cut short due to safety concerns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Rogers' loan spell was cut short and he returned to academy football before an injury delayed his next move to Blackpool until the following January.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

First elected president in 2017 and re-elected in May 2022, Vucic cut short his five-year term to campaign for prime minister, although the law did not require him to resign.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

The scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde’s final years cut short his life and changed how his work would be perceived.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

He cut short my profuse apologies with a magnanimous wave of his hand, and went back over to his and Mme.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

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Related Words

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

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