stop short
idiom
: to stop or be stopped just before doing or reaching something
I had to slam on the brakes when the car in front of me stopped short.
He was about to say something, then stopped short.
—often + ofThe boss said that she was unhappy with some employees, but she stopped short of naming which ones.
The running back was stopped short of the goal line.
Examples of stop short in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Doorless openings and walls that stop short of the ceiling enhance the open floor plan’s sense of flow, including inside the second-floor primary suite, which feels plenty big enough to accommodate more than just two people.
—
Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 30 June 2025
Still, Harmon’s activity is reflective of a political culture in Springfield where officials talk a good game about the importance of ethics in government but routinely stop short of adopting robust laws governing their conduct.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
To their credit, the writers stop short of springing miracles to ensure a happy ending, and actually inject a note of realism with a third-act Plan B that, in real life, real people would have proposed a lot earlier.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 23 May 2025
And though the prequel series’ showrunners stop short of confirming that Lala died on the scene (read their full Q&A), this chain of events reveals why Gibbs never shared this story before.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stop short
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Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 30 June 2025
Still, Harmon’s activity is reflective of a political culture in Springfield where officials talk a good game about the importance of ethics in government but routinely stop short of adopting robust laws governing their conduct.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
To their credit, the writers stop short of springing miracles to ensure a happy ending, and actually inject a note of realism with a third-act Plan B that, in real life, real people would have proposed a lot earlier.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 23 May 2025
And though the prequel series’ showrunners stop short of confirming that Lala died on the scene (read their full Q&A), this chain of events reveals why Gibbs never shared this story before.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stop short
Cite this Entry
“Stop short.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stop%20short. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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