腰jiu1斬zaam2

English

1. to chop sb in half at the waist (capital punishment)
2. (verb) Stop (e.g. Sport games are stopped due to the onset of rain)
3. to sever one's waist to death; to cut somebody at the waist
4. to cut sth in half
5. to suddenly stop something planned from going on; to come to a sudden stop; to cancel while it is in progress
6. to reduce sth by a dramatic margin
7. to terminate
8. to cut short

粵語 — Cantonese

1. 一種死刑，將犯人從腰切斷，長時間受痛苦而死
2. 一件計劃好嘅事發展到中途忽然間主動中止、停頓、取消

Examples

• 呢個節目要腰斬。

  The show has to be stopped midway.

• 因為天氣關係，馬拉松被迫腰斬。

  The marathon had to be cancelled due to the bad weather.

• 以前嘅劊子手負責斬首之外，亦都會腰斬犯人。

  Apart from beheading, executioners were also in charge of cutting prisoners at their waists. ----