From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Short circuit \Short" cir"cuit\ (Elec.)
A circuit formed or closed by a conductor of relatively low
resistance because shorter or of relatively great
conductivity.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
short circuit
n 1: accidental contact between two points in an electric
circuit that have a potential difference [syn: {short
circuit}, short]