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

Quarterback Matthew Stafford was seated a row in front of veteran receiver Davante Adams, who once again had fallen just short of finally reaching the Super Bowl. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

To help make that possible, Opus contracts with a home care agency that provides all the assistance that nearly any resident would need, short of certain skilled nursing. — Howard Gleckman, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Ukraine is very short of high-end air defenses, ​and Russia has tried to exploit this by using more ballistic missiles, which ‌are particularly hard to shoot ⁠down. — Reuters, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026

In some cases, the most likely nominees early on fell spectacularly short of capturing the nomination, as happened to Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani in 2008, noted Panagopoulos. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 9 Aug. 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