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

That role was cut short, however, by Prada's acquisition of the flashy luxury label famous for its Medusa logo, owned by Capri Holdings Limited.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

In June, Black appeared for questioning by the committee but the session was cut short when he left abruptly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

He said passengers were initially offered a 15% refund due to the air conditioning problems, which was increased to 40% when the cruise was cut short on the penultimate day.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

South Korea's annual joint military drills with the US will be cut short by six days at the request of Washington, its defence ministry has announced.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 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