shutdown

[ shuht-doun ]
See synonyms for shutdown on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a shutting down, as of a factory, school, or machine; a termination or suspension of operations, services, or business activity: a partial government shutdown;an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor.

Origin of shutdown

1
1855–60, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase shut down

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shutdown in a sentence

  • Swift and straight she flew and suddenly Chet roared to Lance to shut down, and the propeller groaningly stopped.

  • Then night came, and just after the darkness shut down the patrol craft returned, beating up along the winding river bed.

    The Stars, My Brothers | Edmond Hamilton
  • The world's trade has been paralyzed; as a result, most of the stock exchanges of the world have had to shut down.

    Ways of War and Peace | Delia Austrian
  • Hollister saw that he would be unable to extend his operations until deep snow shut down some of the northern camps that fall.

    The Hidden Places | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • At last the maneuver was completed and the engines shut down to stand-by.

    The Status Civilization | Robert Sheckley

British Dictionary definitions for shutdown

shutdown

/ (ˈʃʌtˌdaʊn) /


noun
    • the closing of a factory, shop, etc

    • (as modifier): shutdown costs

verbshut down (adverb)
  1. to cease or cause to cease operation

  2. (tr) to close by lowering

  1. (tr) (of fog) to descend and envelop

  2. (intr; foll by on or upon) informal to put a stop to; clamp down on

  3. (tr) to reduce the power level of (a nuclear reactor) to the lowest possible value

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with shutdown

shutdown

See close down, def. 1.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.