short of

1 we are short of nurses: DEFICIENT IN, lacking, wanting, in need of, low on, short on, missing; informal strapped for, pushed for, minus.

2 short of searching everyone, there is nothing we can do: APART FROM, other than, aside from, besides, except (for), excepting, without, excluding, not counting, save (for).

→ short

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preposition

1. : not reaching to : on this side of : up to

possesses a meticulous memory just short of total recall — Robert Cantwell

took all measures short of war

a talent little short of genius

2. : with the exclusion or exception of : except for

short of a new fight by the senators on the patent or power provisions, the bill may soon be law — New Republic

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short of

1. Less than

2. Without going so far as

3. Having insufficient supplies of

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Main Entry: ↑short

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less than

he died at sixty-one, four years short of his pensionable age

■ not reaching as far as

a rocket failure left a satellite tumbling in an orbit far short of its proper position

■ without going so far as (some extreme action)

short of putting out an all-persons alert, there's little else we can do

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short of

: except for (something) : other than (something)

Short of replacing the motor, I have tried everything to fix the car.

Short of a catastrophe [=unless something terrible happens], I think we'll succeed.

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Main Entry: ↑short