How to Use short-circuit in a Sentence

short-circuit

1 of 2 verb
Definition of short-circuitnext
Synonyms for short-circuitnext
  • But the surge soon short-circuited when the Rockies tied the game in the top of the eighth.
    — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 13 June 2023
  • Scoreboards have begun to short-circuit at the thought.
    — Kevin Scarbinsky | , al, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Allowing agencies to step in when the law falls silent short-circuits that process.
    — The Editors, National Review, 18 Jan. 2024
  • So, when the Entity forces Hunt to choose which of his amigas to save, Ilsa or Grace, the guy all but short-circuits.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 July 2023
  • You short-circuit them if you’re baffled by the suggestion that baldness is a source of shame.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023
  • Dendrites can short-circuit the battery cell and cause explosive fires.
    — Nidhi Sharma, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Her reporting includes tips to short-circuit this doom loop.
    — Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2023
  • To defeat him, Scott goes sub-atomic and short-circuits Darren’s shrinking suit.
    — Adam B. Vary, Variety, 15 Feb. 2023
  • The group argued that the Chevron doctrine short-circuited the way government is supposed to work by putting agencies in charge of the laws they were supposed to follow.
    — Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Worse still, if too many lithium ions build up, the battery can short-circuit and, potentially, start a battery fire.
    — Rebecca Heilweil, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2023
  • Trying to short-circuit that decision in the courts, however, is likely to make things worse rather than better.
    — Nr Editors, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023
  • For, as everyone knows, when reception is bad, the short-circuit is sometimes in the receiver.
    — Kathleen Watt, Allure, 6 Dec. 2023
  • In the wake of Hurricane Ian in 2022, at least a dozen electric cars caught fire after being exposed to salty floodwaters that caused them to short-circuit.
    — John Fund, National Review, 28 Jan. 2024
  • In a statement, the local government said a short-circuit sparked the fire in the early morning hours of Saturday in the southern region of Arequipa.
    — Reuters, CNN, 7 May 2023
  • The researchers have struggled with dendrites – spiky metallic formations that can cause a battery to short-circuit.
    — Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Mar. 2024
  • The homeowner plugged it into an outlet in their kitchen, but the battery short-circuited and exploded.
    — Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Against the Grizzlies, a team that loved getting into the paint, Davis was a force at the rim, blocking 26 shots and was single-handedly capable of forcing the Grizzlies to short-circuit.
    — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2023
  • Electrical storms can short-circuit the power grid, as occurred in Quebec in 1989 when millions of people were left without power in the cold of late winter.
    — Kim Beil, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Other times, conveniences are put in place in order to short-circuit your ability to act in your own best interests, even if just for a split second.
    — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2023
  • However, keep in mind that presenting a scientist with an equation written in feet and pounds may short-circuit their brains.
    — Sarah Wells, Popular Mechanics, 10 May 2023
  • That becomes even more essential as climate change brings higher winds and flooding, the biggest risks for a reactor short-circuit.
    — Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2023
  • While the Senate is usually hobbled by its rules from quick action, Schumer and McConnell used their clout to short-circuit delaying tactics.
    — Laura Litvan, Bloomberg.com, 2 June 2023
  • And Trump’s superhuman ability to short-circuit the news cycle had lessened—though only to a degree.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Officials tried to short-circuit the logic of a bank run and restore depositors’ confidence that their money is safe.
    — Jeff Stein, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Many feared that war on inflation would cause unemployment to surge and short-circuit the economic recovery from Covid-19.
    — Matt Egan, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024
  • At issue is a 12-volt battery cable that may be missing a fuse, potentially causing the cable to short-circuit or overheat during a crash.
    — Rob Wile, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Boston is a two-time national defensive player of the year who can short-circuit entire offenses, while Clark is a gunslinger who thinks nothing of pulling up from the logo.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2023
  • By skipping over Nora’s teenage and early adult years, Song elides a lot of details and short-circuits a lot of potential immigrant-experience clichés.
    — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2023
  • The issue is tied to the vehicle’s brake pressure sensor assembly, which could allow brake fluid to leak into the brake pressure switch and cause an electrical short-circuit.
    — Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2023
  • But if stories like mine can short-circuit the Hot Cheetos Industrial Complex, and birth something honest and refreshing?
    — Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2023
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short circuit

2 of 2 noun
  • There are times when the space heater could overpower the cord and cause it to short circuit.
    — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2020
  • The short circuit from the balloon can also cause power lines to fall to the ground.
    — Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Some of the work seemed haphazard, and machine bundling of the wires left them open to short circuits.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 July 2019
  • And so impeachment, in a way, would short circuit that.
    — Time Staff, Time, 17 Apr. 2018
  • Lithium dendrite can cause a short circuit that sparks a fire, Chen wrote.
    — Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Sometimes, when people do nice things to me, I short circuit.
    — Peggy Truong, Cosmopolitan, 19 Mar. 2018
  • This defect can result in a higher risk of crash if the short circuit happens while the car is in use.
    — Lauren M. Johnson, CNN, 24 Oct. 2019
  • Officials said the fire was caused by a short circuit that came amid heavy rain in Moscow.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 12 Dec. 2022
  • The statement says the exact cause of the short circuit is unknown and that there have been no crashes or injuries.
    — Tom Krisher, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023
  • Authorities at one point said the fire was caused by a short circuit.
    — Fox News, 14 July 2021
  • The blaze, started by a short circuit in a piece of charging equipment, had torn through the tent in which everything was housed.
    — Jonathan Hawkins, CNN, 8 July 2019
  • The damage could cause a short circuit that, because there’s no fuse in the circuitry, could lead to overheating and a fire.
    — Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 2 June 2023
  • Jay saw his first fatal fire in high school, when a short circuit lit up an old man's house early one morning on the next block over.
    — Sean Flynn, Esquire, 9 Mar. 2017
  • Even in its game against Kentucky, Ole Miss might have given up 30-plus points if the Wildcats didn’t short circuit in the red zone and on special teams.
    — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 20 Oct. 2022
  • And that was a world in which the tubes often blew, and bugs in the system were literal ones, namely insects that caused short circuits.
    — The Economist, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Most designs aren't a fire or electrical hazard, as the batteries shut off in the event of a short circuit.
    — Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 1 Mar. 2023
  • There was no short circuit on an electrical device in his room.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 10 June 2022
  • So when a short circuit hit the grid, the suddenly imbalanced system didn’t adjust to it as planned and the grid collapsed.
    — Washington Post, 3 July 2019
  • This can be caused by an overloaded circuit, short circuit or ground fault.
    — azcentral, 1 Aug. 2019
  • And admitting privileges laws are just a short circuit to get there.
    — Kate Smith, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2019
  • That punch loomed like an executioner’s sword, and when Davis landed it against the ropes in the sixth, Santa Cruz’s body seemed to short circuit.
    — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, 2 Nov. 2020
  • Salt may also connect to cravings via a short circuit in the gut microbiome.
    — Christopher Damman, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Doing so, is known as creating a short circuit and could cause the wires and the batteries to get extremely hot.
    — Rachelle Doorley, Parents, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The problem is that the dendrites bore through the electrolyte over time and cause a short circuit during charging, reducing the battery's life span.
    — Roberto Baldwin, Ars Technica, 2 Nov. 2022
  • The recent review of changes to the Max raised the question whether a wiring short circuit could also cause a runaway stabilizer.
    — Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2020
  • Currently, Hyundai is investigating the cause of the short circuit in the ABS module.
    — Colin Beresford, Car and Driver, 18 Mar. 2021
  • Dealers will install a relay in the cars' main electrical junction box to prevent short circuits while the car is turned off.
    — Tom Krisher, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2020
  • The wire appears to be plain copper wire, which touches where it is bunched up around the center hole—this would cause a short circuit situation.
    — Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 30 Mar. 2023
  • That can result in a short circuit, preventing the front passenger’s airbag from deploying properly in the event of a crash.
    — William Gavin, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
  • The electronic switch may short circuit, resulting in the tailgate unlatching.
    — Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 4 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'short-circuit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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