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

In terms of goalscoring, Mbappe had the best tournament of any footballer since Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970, equalling Muller’s tally of 10 goals (just three short of Just Fontaine’s all-time single World Cup record of 13 in 1958). — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 July 2026

Hamrick said to his companion, motioning to a spot short of the summit. — John Blake, CNN Money, 19 July 2026

That delay is reportedly due to the model’s coding capabilities, in particular, were short of internal expectations. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 17 July 2026

Llanas said the team fell just short of the district championship last year, and that has helped fuel its run this year. — Cal Phillips july 17, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 July 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