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
However, some leaders stop short of getting curious enough to ask what might work.
—
Julia Korn, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
That includes providing shorter fields for the generally methodical offense, and snuffing out opposing drives that the defense has labored to stop short as it’s allowed foes to convert third downs 41.7% of the time — 21st in the league.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 3 Jan. 2025
Kyle Shanahan continues to stop short of saying whether Greenlaw will make his 2024 debut against the Rams.
—Matt Barrows, The Athletic, 11 Dec. 2024
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Washington is considering further measures to restrict sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China, but that the new rules could stop short of earlier proposals that were seen as stricter.
—Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 28 Nov. 2024
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Julia Korn, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
That includes providing shorter fields for the generally methodical offense, and snuffing out opposing drives that the defense has labored to stop short as it’s allowed foes to convert third downs 41.7% of the time — 21st in the league.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 3 Jan. 2025
Kyle Shanahan continues to stop short of saying whether Greenlaw will make his 2024 debut against the Rams.
—Matt Barrows, The Athletic, 11 Dec. 2024
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Washington is considering further measures to restrict sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China, but that the new rules could stop short of earlier proposals that were seen as stricter.
—Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stop short
Dictionary Entries Near stop short
Cite this Entry
“Stop short.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stop%20short. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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