come up short
idiom
: to not go far enough : be insufficient
The shot came up short of the target.
The state education budget came up short last year.
Examples of come up short in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since 1937, 30 women had tried 47 times to win a Triple Crown race, only to come up short.
—
Joe Drape, New York Times, 10 June 2023
The conference had sent Oklahoma to the CFP four times and four times the Sooners had come up short.
—Dallas News, 2 Jan. 2023
Doug Mastriano, an election denier running for governor under the MAGA banner, looks likely to come up short against the moderate Democrat Josh Shapiro.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2022
If the Beavers come up short, there’s probably not enough time to catch and pass the Cardinal as Oregon State ultimately did.
—oregonlive, 11 Oct. 2022
The Colts will have a chance to send the game to overtime, and on a cold day in front of crazed fans with a Super Bowl appearance on the line, Rodrigo Blankenship will line up for the kick and come up short.
—Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Sep. 2022
There’s a thin line between true contenders and high-level pretenders in the N.B.A. Now that their latest title pursuit has come up short, the Celtics face difficult questions about which path forward puts the team firmly in the contender camp.
—Sopan Deb, New York Times, 30 May 2023
Water First operates alongside long-standing federal government efforts that have come up short in ensuring a safe water supply for all Indigenous communities countrywide.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2022
Tye to force a standard smartphone or tablet methodology on them and your experience will come up short.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022
Joe Drape, New York Times, 10 June 2023
The conference had sent Oklahoma to the CFP four times and four times the Sooners had come up short.
—Dallas News, 2 Jan. 2023
Doug Mastriano, an election denier running for governor under the MAGA banner, looks likely to come up short against the moderate Democrat Josh Shapiro.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2022
If the Beavers come up short, there’s probably not enough time to catch and pass the Cardinal as Oregon State ultimately did.
—oregonlive, 11 Oct. 2022
The Colts will have a chance to send the game to overtime, and on a cold day in front of crazed fans with a Super Bowl appearance on the line, Rodrigo Blankenship will line up for the kick and come up short.
—Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Sep. 2022
There’s a thin line between true contenders and high-level pretenders in the N.B.A. Now that their latest title pursuit has come up short, the Celtics face difficult questions about which path forward puts the team firmly in the contender camp.
—Sopan Deb, New York Times, 30 May 2023
Water First operates alongside long-standing federal government efforts that have come up short in ensuring a safe water supply for all Indigenous communities countrywide.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2022
Tye to force a standard smartphone or tablet methodology on them and your experience will come up short.
—Ewan Spence, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come up short.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near come up short
Cite this Entry
“Come up short.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20up%20short. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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