cut short

Idioms  

1. Abbreviate, stop abruptly, as in The thunderstorm cut short our picnic, or She cut her short, saying she'd already heard the story of their breakup. Shakespeare used this term to mean “put a sudden end to someone's life”: “Rather than bloody war shall cut them short” (2 Henry VI, 4:4), a less common usage today. The broader usage dates from the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

With their visit cut short, she became upset.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

But it wasn't meant to end like this - with Salah essentially agreeing to cut short his contract and Liverpool letting him leave on a free this summer.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Francesca and Michaela’s upcoming hero romance has been in motion for some time and promises to grant queerness a front-and-center visibility that was cut short when Benedict ended his romance with Lady Tilley and Paul.

From Salon • Mar. 4, 2026

Historically, Iran’s Mehrabad airport in Tehran was emerging as a global hub connecting East and West in the 1970s, but that trajectory cut short by the Iranian Revolution, Harteveldt said.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026

She has soft auburn hair cut short, a calm voice, and patient eyes that crinkle when she laughs.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Related Words

• abort
• break off
• curtail
• halt
• hinder
• interrupt
• postpone
• quit
• shorten
• terminate