stop short
Idioms-
Also, stop one short . Check abruptly, as in When we tried to cross the street, the barrier stopped us short . [Early 1300s]
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Cause someone to stop speaking, as in I was about to tell them the date when my father stopped me short . [Late 1800s]
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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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some of his advisers and supporters urge him to stop short of a change of regime in Tehran.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Iranian policymakers have believed the United States would stop short of targeting leaders for fear of escalation but "the Maduro episode complicates that assumption," she wrote.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
It will stop short of individually tailored advice, which can only be provided by an authorised financial adviser for a fee.
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026
Oddly, some people still stop short of characterizing “Andor” as commentary on fascism, although parallels between the Empire and Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich abound.
From Salon • May 7, 2025
While still in the Illustrian Quarter, I pass a large glass display of saddles and bridles and stop short, startled at my own reflection, at the haunted, hollow-eyed creature looking back at me.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
