stop short

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Also, stop one short. Check abruptly, as in When we tried to cross the street, the barrier stopped us short. [Early 1300s]

Cause someone to stop speaking, as in I was about to tell them the date when my father stopped me short. [Late 1800s]

stop short of. Not go so far as to do or say something. For example, He may embroider the truth but he stops short of actually lying. This usage was first recorded in 1818.

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Words nearby stop short

stopping power, stopple, stop press, stop price, stops, stop short, stop sign, stop someone's clock, stop street, stopt, stop the clock

How to use stop short in a sentence

As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But I think Steve Austin has to team up with a Japanese holdout to stop a nuclear bomb from going off or something.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That ground hold was to stop you flying through weather that could kill you and everyone else aboard.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The precision it took to craft such a cohesive, wholly compelling work over 12 years is nothing short of remarkable.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the stems are quite bare; on other occasions they are partly branched; in any case the branches are short.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Many of their cannon balls that fell far short of us, were collected and returned to them with powerful effect.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He was tall and of familiar figure, and the firelight was playing in the tossed curls of his short, fair hair.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
They are ovoid in shape, and lie in pairs, end to end, often forming short chains.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
"But I can't stop to argue about it now;" and, saying this, he turned into a side path, and disappeared in the wood.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl

stop short

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