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

The conversation was cut short when Hatton, who continues to play on the breakaway Saudi-backed tour, started making eyes at Augusta National.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

With their visit cut short, she became upset.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 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

Even the wolves found this conversation interesting, as you might well imagine, but the discussion was cut short by a hooting, unnatural sound, coming from a far distance.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

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