shut down; shutting down; shuts down
: to settle so as to obscure vision : close in
the night shut down early
: to make ineffective in competition
shut down the opposition's offensive line
Synonyms
Examples of shutdown in a Sentence
Noun
the shutdown of the factory
the factory resumed operation after a brief shutdown for repairs
Recent Examples on the Web
Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024
The 27% figure does not apply to areas where the state has not enacted shutdowns of unlicensed weed shops, a rep for Hochul noted.
—Michael Gartland, New York Daily News, 18 June 2024
Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 26 June 2024
That court took a bunch of vague allegations, involving decisions by private companies that had only a tenuous connection to anything done by a government official, and used those vague allegations to try to shut down the Biden administration’s ability to communicate with those companies.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for shutdown 
Noun
The play was first put on in a Yale School of Drama basement in 2017, followed by multiple off-Broadway and Broadway runs and a stint reopening Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum after the pandemic shutdowns.
—Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024
The 27% figure does not apply to areas where the state has not enacted shutdowns of unlicensed weed shops, a rep for Hochul noted.
—Michael Gartland, New York Daily News, 18 June 2024
Verb
But UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, and all of the other likely lottery and first round picks who met with media on the eve of the big day, hope to shut down the narrative that their draft class is a weak one.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 26 June 2024
That court took a bunch of vague allegations, involving decisions by private companies that had only a tenuous connection to anything done by a government official, and used those vague allegations to try to shut down the Biden administration’s ability to communicate with those companies.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for shutdown
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shutdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shutdown
Cite this Entry
“Shutdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shutdown. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
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