Electricity.
to make (an appliance, switch, etc.) inoperable by establishing a short circuit in.
to carry (a current) as a short circuit.
to bypass, impede, hinder, or frustrate.
Bad weather short-circuited my vacation plans.
to develop or cause to develop a short circuit
(tr) to bypass (a procedure, regulation, etc)
(tr) to hinder or frustrate (plans, etc)
First recorded in 1875–80
First recorded in 1870–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Preliminary investigations by Bangkok's disaster mitigation department suggest the fire could have been caused by an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner, though no official cause has been given.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Adams pointed to social media platforms like X as evidence that machines “can easily short circuit our sense of human accountability and responsibility.”
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2026
These thread like growths, known as filaments, would keep extending until they created a short circuit and destroyed the pixel.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026
The fire may have been caused by a short circuit, he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2025
“I guess there must of been a short circuit or something in the wiring,” Buddy Gabaldon mumbled lamely.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
So a lot of people think bubbles are an ideological thing, instead of a material thing with reasons and motives that are totally rational — and that we can short-circuit.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
His 8-foot wingspan and uncanny quickness let him short-circuit opposing offenses all by himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Kalshi dismissed the charges as "seriously flawed" and "gamesmanship," saying Arizona was attempting to short-circuit its own lawsuit against the state, filed on March 12.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
It's an album of intimate, gauzy pop, almost entirely drumless and built around hypnotic musical loops that short-circuit your emotions.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025
Cooper reminded Shepard that his body was covered with sensors and electrical wires; he’d short-circuit the system.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Eventually, they reach the bottom electrode, creating a permanent connection that short-circuits the device and leaves it stuck in the on state.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 7, 2026
Her faith is no facade, and it short-circuits the sort of subtextual psychological approach we might expect in a more typical bio-drama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
This can be triggered by events from short-circuits to physical damage and manufacturing defects, and which allows heat-producing chemical reactions to start within the battery.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2025
Beyond that, the decision short-circuits the careful development of the law of PLCAA.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025
Ross has woven a spell over him, I think, in which—what do you call it?—flex and tungsten and short-circuits and all the rest of that impossible jargon of these light-fiends are inextricably mixed.
From The Riddle of the Spinning Wheel by Hanshew, Mary E.
“The energy price shock has short-circuited the monetary easing cycle,” said analysts Maybank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
That process normally requires an investigation, but can be short-circuited where there are serious harms, risks to children, and histories of non-compliance.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
But I was like this person who was short-circuited and I didn’t know how to fix myself.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
"Maybe it's the failure of Oslo that gave rise to the rather unconventional approach that Trump has taken, where he has short-circuited any sort of process and simply pressured and cajoled," Yacoubian said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
We got a blink for the first time since the STM short-circuited.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Apple shares had their worst day in more than a year Thursday after it announced big price increases, short-circuiting a tech rally sparked by memory maker Micron’s solid results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
She’s the film’s sole draw, but Thatcher's expertise can’t save it from short-circuiting in the end.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2025
Marsha Hunt appeared in more than 50 films before being accused of communist sympathies, short-circuiting her career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
By short-circuiting this process SAP05 provides a new way of carrying out the essential task of protein degradation which serves its own parasitic purpose and is completely independent of ubiquitin.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2023
Heat lightning shoots through my skull, short-circuiting the wires.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
