stop short

stop short — 慣用語

1. to suddenly stop what you are doing just before you reach a goal, say something,

1.慣用語B2
釋義

及時煞住

正要做某事時突然停下來

to suddenly stop what you are doing just before you reach a goal, say something, or take an action — often because you realise it would be unwise or unsafe to continue.

例句

Jabari stopped short of telling his boss the real reason for leaving his job.

Jabari 話到嘴邊停住，沒有告訴老闆他離職的真正原因。

stop short of + gerund (telling)

The taxi stopped short just before hitting a cat that ran across the wet road.

那輛計程車在即將撞上一隻竄過濕滑路面的貓之前及時煞住了。

passive-like construction: stopped short just before + gerund

同義詞
  • pull back

    more informal, often about retreating from a planned action rather than stopping at the brink

  • hesitate

    focuses on pausing due to doubt, not necessarily stopping completely

  • halt

    more formal and final; 'stop short' implies the possibility of continuing

反義詞
  • plunge into

    to begin doing something without hesitation — the opposite of holding back

  • forge ahead

    to continue with determination despite risks

文法句型

stop short of + gerund/noun

用法筆記

Frequently appears in the pattern 'stop short of + gerund' to describe what action was nearly taken but held back from. The subject can be a person, a group, or even a vehicle (for literal stopping).

常見錯誤

❌She stopped short to say something rude.
✅She stopped short of saying something rude.
💡The idiom requires 'of' before the action that was nearly done, not an infinitive purpose clause.