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Glite Dictionary
short circuit

short circuit

5 4.2
An accidental electrical connection that lets electricity flow the wrong way and can cause damage or fire
  • noun
  • /ʃɔrt ˈsɜrkɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cortocircuito
  • The storm caused a short circuit and actually switched the scan from a hospital computer to DataNet.
  • short circuit protection

When zinc batteries charge and discharge, zinc tends to grow in the form of spiky crystals that can cause short circuits.

Examples

  • Maybe a short circuit from the rain.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Saltwater severely corrodes electrical wires and can create short circuits and overheating very quickly.

    Blog text (27)

  • Then you get a short circuit.

    Wild Side (1996)

  • - Must be a short circuit somewhere.

    Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

  • OK, let's measure the short circuit current.

  • Well, if it's just a short circuit, I can switch to secondary immediately.

    Skybound (2017)

  • If you did this, you would create a short circuit and drain your battery very quickly.

    Blog text (10)

  • We said there'd been some electrical problem, a short circuit.

    The Bodyguard (1992)

  • Apparently, the dampness caused a weak short circuit.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Last night, a short circuit caused the lights to flicker and then go out completely.

Synonyms

short
vsshort circuit
  • Specialized
212 8.1

An accidental connection between two wires that stops an electric device working

focuses on the unintended connection and its damaging interruption of function

Antonyms

open circuit
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A broken electrical path that stops electric current

How Much

short circuit
  • Specialized
5 4.2
shunt
  • Specialized
1 8.4
bypass
  • Specialized
10 7.2
open circuit
  • Specialized
1 4.6

Surface Forms

short circuit singular
short circuits plural

Morphology

short + circuit

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'short' (a reduced or abbreviated path) with 'circuit' (an electrical loop): together they describe an electrical loop that has become abnormally short, allowing current to take an unintended path. This compositional logic is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'cortocircuito', French 'court-circuit'), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun short circuit comes from the picture of electricity finding a very short path across a circuit when wires touch, making a sudden spark or loss of power. That's why a 'short circuit' means an accidental connection that can cause 'damage' or make things 'stop working'.