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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

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Etymology

Origin of short circuit¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Origin of short-circuit²

First recorded in 1870–75

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

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

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

Nets have been placed over certain streets; in previous years metal kite strings have fallen on to electricity wires giving an electric shock to anyone holding them - and causing the wires to short circuit.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026

Later, we’d learn that there had been a short circuit somewhere among the hundreds of miles of wiring within the craft.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Ruchir Sharma, chair of Rockerfeller International, said in a recent op-ed in the Financial Times that he was worried higher borrowing costs might short-circuit the AI boom.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

This can puncture the batteries that cause them to short-circuit, overheat and potentially ignite surrounding materials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 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

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

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

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

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

Beyond that, the decision short-circuits the careful development of the law of PLCAA.

From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025

Some scooters began catching fire which, auto experts say, was likely due to short-circuits or faulty battery management system.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 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

No loss of active material, hence no sediment short-circuits.

From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Frank Lewis Dyer

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

His absence figured to make it hard for the Lakers to incorporate the slew of fresh faces they’d brought in to address the defensive deficiencies that had short-circuited their playoff run a season ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025

"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

If Leo had had gears and wires in his brain, they would’ve short-circuited.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

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

The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool’s concrete wall with such force they burst.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

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