Idioms for short

Origin of short

before 900; Middle English schort (adj.), Old English sceort; cognate with Old High German scurz short, Old Norse skortr shortness, scarcity

SYNONYMS FOR short

4 Short, brief are opposed to long, and indicate slight extent or duration. Short may imply duration but is also applied to physical distance and certain purely spatial relations: a short journey. Brief refers especially to duration of time: brief intervals.
5 terse, succinct, laconic, condensed.
6 curt, sharp, testy.
7 poor, deficient, inadequate, wanting, lacking.
12 crumbly.
14 brachycephalic.

OTHER WORDS FROM short

short·ness, noun o·ver·short, adjective o·ver·short·ness, noun un·short, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for short of

See also shorts

Derived forms of short

shortness, noun

Word Origin for short

Old English scort; related to Old Norse skortr a lack, skera to cut, Old High German scurz short

Idioms and Phrases with short of (1 of 2)

short of

1

Having an inadequate supply of, as in We're short of cash right now. [Late 1600s] Also see fall short of.

2

Less than, inferior to, as in Nothing short of her best effort was needed to make the team. [Mid-1500s]

3

Other than, without resorting to, as in Short of yelling, I had no other way of getting his attention.

4

See stop short, def. 3.

Idioms and Phrases with short of (2 of 2)

short