close down
Britishverb
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to cease or cause to cease operations
the shop closed down
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(tr) sport to mark or move towards (an opposing player) in order to prevent him or her running with the ball or making or receiving a pass
noun
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a closure or stoppage of operations, esp in a factory
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radio television the end of a period of broadcasting, esp late at night
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Also, close one's doors ; shut down . Go out of business, end operations. For example, If the rent goes up we'll have to close down , or After fifty years in business the store finally closed its doors , or The warehouse had a clearance sale the month before it shut down for good . Also see close up , def. 2.
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Force someone to go out of business, as in The police raided the porn shop and closed it down . Both usages date from the early 1900s, but shut down was first recorded in 1877.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The combination of light positioning and hopes for strong earnings has not worked. We close down our positive views on hyperscalers and growth,” Kaiser said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Some of the German capital's online systems were forced to close down as a result of the attack, while investigators were working to understand what data had been taken.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Shares of Insmed close down 1.4% at $123.98, having fallen 29% this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The shares fell to $108.27 at Wednesday’s close, down 13.6%.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
She was also worried that if she did refuse, her superiors would be encouraged to close down the 587th as a regiment.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
