Audible complaint cut short (4)
I believe the answer is:
mown
'cut short' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'audible complaint' is the wordplay.
'audible' shows a homophone (sound like).
'complaint' becomes 'moan' (I've seen this before).
'moan' sounds like 'MOWN'.
(Other definitions for mown that I've seen before include "Cut down with a blade" , "Block of cast metal" , "(Of grass) cut" .)