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• short circuit
  short circuit

  noun

  an abnormal, usually unintentional condition of relatively low resistance between two points of different potential in a circuit, usually resulting in a flow of excess current.
• short-circuit
  short-circuit

short circuit

¹ American  

noun

Electricity.

1. Also called short.  an abnormal, usually unintentional condition of relatively low resistance between two points of different potential in a circuit, usually resulting in a flow of excess current.

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short-circuit ² American  

[shawrt-sur-kit] / ˌʃɔrtˈsɜr kɪt /

verb (used with object)

• short-circuits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• short-circuited,
  past participle,  past
• short-circuiting
  present participle

1. Electricity.

   1. to make (an appliance, switch, etc.) inoperable by establishing a short circuit in.

   2. to carry (a current) as a short circuit.

2. to bypass, impede, hinder, or frustrate.

   Bad weather short-circuited my vacation plans.

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verb (used without object)

• short-circuits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• short-circuited,
  past participle,  past
• short-circuiting
  present participle

1. Electricity. to form a short circuit or become inoperable due to a short circuit.

short circuit British  

noun

1. a faulty or accidental connection between two points of different potential in an electric circuit, bypassing the load and establishing a path of low resistance through which an excessive current can flow. It can cause damage to the components if the circuit is not protected by a fuse

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verb

1. to develop or cause to develop a short circuit

2. (tr) to bypass (a procedure, regulation, etc)

3. (tr) to hinder or frustrate (plans, etc)

short circuit Scientific  

/ shôrt /

1. An electrical path in a circuit that causes most of the current to flow around or away from some other path in the circuit. Accidental short circuits, especially between the high and low voltages of a power supply, can cause very strong current to flow, possibly damaging or overheating the circuit.

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short circuit Cultural  

1. An electrical circuit in which a path of very low resistance has been opened, usually accidentally. When the resistance drops, the electric current (see also current) in the circuit becomes very high and can cause damage to the circuit and start fires.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• short-circuiting
  present
• short-circuited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• short-circuit
  simple
• short-circuits
  simple
• have short-circuited
  perfect
• has short-circuited
  perfect
• am short-circuiting
  progressive
• are short-circuiting
  progressive
• is short-circuiting
  progressive
• have been short-circuiting
  perfect progressive
• has been short-circuiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• short-circuited
  simple
• had short-circuited
  perfect
• was short-circuiting
  progressive
• were short-circuiting
  progressive
• had been short-circuiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will short-circuit
  simple
• will have short-circuited
  perfect
• will be short-circuiting
  progressive
• will have been short-circuiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of short circuit¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Origin of short-circuit²

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

short circuit short-circuit short-circuits short-circuited short-circuiting

Basu said that when the power went out earlier in the evening, she was in the shower and believed the outage could have been due to a short circuit in her older building.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Choosing an apprenticeship is a short circuit around an increasingly crowded university-educated job market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 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

My mind flickered as if on short circuit, spitting never-ending images of anguish, anxiety, and sorrow at me.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

His 8-foot wingspan and uncanny quickness let him short-circuit opposing offenses all by himself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 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

He lies so relentlessly that even his detractors become mentally fatigued as the brain’s basic truth-tracking mechanisms begin to short-circuit.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025

But First Choice does not want to wait; it seeks to short-circuit the New Jersey judiciary and win a get-out-of-subpoena-free card from the federal courts immediately.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2025

And maybe with Tamika’s help, I wouldn’t short-circuit everything.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

The sales process likely short-circuits an alternative WBD plan next year to spin off its old-style TV assets, hoping to make its remaining assets more attractive to potential buyers like Apple, Amazon and Netflix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 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

Hamlin has had so many memorable, boundary-pushing roles in film and television that the brain short-circuits trying to sort through all of his credits at once.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2025

Wonderful are the new cuts and the short-circuits the thought-paths make.

From Meaning of Truth by William James

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to calm markets is being short-circuited.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 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

Then I think about how many humans might have wandered in with the same intentions, and I realize that my brain short-circuited and kicked out the wrong image.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

When those directives collide, the result isn’t growth but short-circuiting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 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

I fell to plotting ways of short-circuiting the machine.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Related Words

• ditch
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