power down

British

verb

(tr, adverb) to shut down (a computer system) in a methodical way, concluding by switching the power off

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

A survey by Polling Europe released in February found 25% of Europeans now view the U.S. as a friendly power, down from 61% two years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Should data centers be required to power down when electricity grids are running close to capacity?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

For example, Greenidge gas power plant in New York which was renovated to mine bitcoin was mandated to power down mining in January to supply electricity to the grid during a cold snap.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2025

Generations of workers have used caffeine to rev up their brain cells when they really want to power down in the face of yet another round of spreadsheets, meetings and now Zoom calls.

From Salon • Jan. 27, 2024

Or leading power down from it; for there was a wire running off a huge reel on the sledge, a wire that ran directly upward to the sky.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023