Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Short-circuit \Short"-cir`cuit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Short-circuited; p. pr. & vb. n. Short-circuiting.] (Elec.) To join, as the electrodes of a battery or dynamo or any two points of a circuit, by a conductor of low resistance.
Wiktionary
vb. (alternative spelling of short circuit English)
WordNet
v. hamper the progress of; impede; "short-circuit warm feelings"
create a short-circuit in [syn: short]
avoid something unpleasant or laborious; "You cannot bypass these rules!" [syn: bypass, go around, get around]
Usage examples of "short-circuit".
In 1770 Chancellor Maupeou decided to short-circuit Parlementaire resistance by doing away with the entitling offices that allowed the magistrates their jurisdiction, and at the same time he created new tribunals directly responsible to the crown.
What makes narcotics so pernicious is their ability to short-circuit the process by triggering the reward mechanism directly, without anything beneficial having to be done at all.
Three of the labs came back under their own power and were reattached, but the chem lab was completely short-circuited.
Sometimes he would find himself flowing within a stream of faceless people, allowing their energy and direction to be his, permitting his thoughts to spiral and short-circuit in a dreamy carousel without meaning, His hunger brought mystic transport close to the surface of his consciousness, and wisps of escape ended with sudden jolts of reality.
At 12:29, a neon lawn display featuring Santa Claus and his helpers short-circuited, shooting flames along the electrical cord to its inside terminus--a plug attached to a maze of adapters fueling a large, brightly lit Christmas tree and nativity scene--severely burning three children heaping tissue-wrapped presents on a glow-in-the-dark baby Jesus.
The Gabriel's teratron was not intended for the hyperthermic production of collapsars by short-circuiting, but the Quintans could have deduced that from the construction itself.
Researchers have found that frequencies as low as one hertz (one cycle per second) have a definite effect on the inner ear, somehow short-circuiting its equilibrium and causing dizziness.
My data processing system has mimicked a colloid mind to short-circuit my decision tree.
Someday I must bake a particularly small batch of mince pies for this special purpose, so that I shall not need to short-circuit my epigastrium in pursuit of a fine old custom.
He was also short-circuiting his own National Security Advisor, but as loyal and clever as Ben Goodley was, Jack Ryan still wanted to hear it directly when he could.
Colonel Cotton is the man who saved one of the $350 million experimental XB-70s by short-circuiting a computer with a paper clip.
Your mathematic must tell us how, with our universal force, we can short-circuit the ultimate prime number that is, factor it so that the door will open any time.
Your mathematic must tell us how, with our universal force, we can short-circuit the ultimate prime number -- that is, factor it -- so that the door will open any time.
With the security shield having been short-circuited, he couldn’t be sure.
The Chinese finally wised up to his pattern and short-circuited it, but that didn't mean Achilles didn't have his next move planned.