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
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
Reflecting on his use of the internet, Burton said: "I get depressed very quickly, maybe more quickly than other people. But it doesn't take me much to start to click and start to short circuit."
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2024
Something had gone wrong in the electrical system of the command module, resulting in a short circuit.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
So a lot of people think bubbles are an ideological thing, instead of a material thing with reasons and motives that are totally rational — and that we can short-circuit.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
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
The submarine vanished on November 15, 2017 after reporting that seawater had entered the ventilation system, causing a battery on the vessel to short-circuit and start a fire.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
If Seth wanted a fast decision—to short-circuit the deliberative process through which the company made most decisions—we wanted to hear the cast read the script.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
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
This effectively short-circuits brain electrical activity and compromises function.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024
To start them Mr. Tesla short-circuits the synchronizing motor by a switch P', throwing the whole current through the torque motor.
From The inventions, researches and writings of Nikola Tesla With special reference to his work in polyphase currents and high potential lighting by Martin, Thomas Commerford
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
But on the Italians’ opening night, the torrents of rain short-circuited TV monitors and panelists struggled to give their presentations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 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
That odd, crackling noise you hear is the sound of a sentence short-circuiting!
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
