short of

preposition

: other than

especially : of a lesser degree than

had few options short of replacing the motor

Examples of short of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Together, their parties hold 48 seats, 13 short of the 61 generally needed for a parliamentary majority. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 11 Nov. 2026

Peltola is just over 1 percentage point short of the majority needed to win outright. — Camille Baker, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026

Netanyahu now has only 46 lawmakers supporting him, leaving him far short of the majority needed to govern. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2026

Meaning, short of throwing him onstage as a hologram or doling out money-grabbing box sets, a tasteful collection with a brand with a real connection to his work is actually one of the better options that exist. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for short of

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove
• hereinabove