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stop short

[/stɑp ʃɔrt/]
verb phrase
parar abruptamente; deter-se
1. to come to an abrupt halt or stop suddenly before reaching a destination or completing an action
The car stopped short to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
O carro parou abruptamente para evitar atropelar o pedestre.
2. to refrain from doing something; to avoid an action at the last moment
He stopped short of criticizing his colleague's work.
Ele evitou criticar o trabalho de seu colega.
3. to interrupt oneself while speaking
She stopped short when she realized she had said something inappropriate.
Ela interrompeu a si mesma quando percebeu que havia dito algo inadequado.
Synonyms
halt abruptlycome to a sudden stopstop deadpull up short
Antonyms
continueproceedcarry ongo through with

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
parar abruptamente; parar na hora
most common usage in Brazilian Portuguese
Rio de Janeiro
parar de repente; freiar
informal, colloquial usage
São Paulo
parar abruptamente; deter-se
standard usage
Portugal
parar abruptamente; deter-se; travar
formal and informal variants used

Related Idioms & Phrases

stop short of doing something
pull up short
come up short
fall short
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