short of something
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
lacking a sufficient amount of something
Literally: near to but not reaching something
Register: neutral
Examples
The team fell short of their fundraising goal.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR B2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “short of something” mean?
lacking a sufficient amount of something Literally: near to but not reaching something
Is “short of something” formal or informal?
short of something is generally neutral.