shutdown

[shuht-doun]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shutdown ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shutdown

closure, stoppage, closedown, cessation, abandonment

Examples from the Web for shutdown

Contemporary Examples of shutdown

He added, "I have not had this many phone calls since the shutdown of the government, truthfully."
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup
Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich
January 6, 2015
They added that the shutdown was temporary and they plan to resume the trial in January.
Uh Oh: Ebola Vaccine Trials Stop
Leigh Cowart
December 19, 2014
In their opinion, this would allow conservatives to lay a marker down on immigration while avoiding a shutdown for the time being.
Bachmann and Pelosi vs. Boehner and Obama Over Spending Bill
Ben Jacobs
December 11, 2014
But mostly, I think the Democrats are cynically pushing this shutdown talk as a way to scare their base.
Democrats' Midterm Wish: The Government Shutdown That Won't Happen
Ron Christie
September 3, 2014
Other conservative groups claim to have faced the threat of shutdown from the Facebook overlords, too.
ReaganBook Is the Latest Conservative #Fail
Gideon Resnick
July 31, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for shutdown

shutdown

noun

the closing of a factory, shop, etc
(as modifier)shutdown costs

verb shut down (adverb)

to cease or cause to cease operation

(tr) to close by lowering

(tr) (of fog) to descend and envelop

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

(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

Word Origin and History for shutdown

also shut-down, 1884, of factories, etc.; 1911 of machines; from shut (v.) + down (adv.).