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.
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
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
Local broadcaster NDTV, citing unnamed police officials, said that a short circuit may have sparked the fire.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
I could still hear the words, feel the numbness settle in, like a short circuit in my brain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025
In the midst of one prayer, smoke issued from the lectern and I thought we had gone too far but it turned out to be a short circuit.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Pupils attempt to short-circuit the devices by breaking off charging pins or jamming metal items into power ports, causing them to overheat and, in some cases, going on fire.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
There will still be opportunities for regular people to short-circuit these attempted abuses.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2026
"Frost, low cloud, fog. In such weather, it is difficult for a drone to fly. It can short-circuit, it can break in the air," said Nazariy, one of the brigade's squad commanders.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
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
The scientists urged the committee not to short-circuit testing that could make nuclear weapons more moral.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
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
The majority of the fires were of secondary origin starting from the usual electrical short-circuits, broken gas lines, overturned stoves, open fires, charcoal braziers, lamps, etc., following collapse or serious damage from the direct blast.
From The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Manhattan District
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
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
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
The fourth hit an electrical connection, disintegrating the plug and short-circuiting it.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
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.
