shunt

1 of 2

verb

ˈshənt 

shunted; shunting; shunts

transitive verb

1

a

: to turn off to one side : shift

was shunted aside

b

: to switch (a railroad car, a train, etc.) from one track to another

2

: to provide with or divert by means of an electrical shunt

3

: to divert (blood or other bodily fluid) from one part to another by a surgical shunt

4

: shuttle

shunted the missiles from shelter to shelter

intransitive verb

1

: to move to the side

2

: to travel back and forth

shunted between the two towns

shunter noun

shunt

2 of 2

noun

1

: a means or mechanism for turning or thrusting aside: such as

a

chiefly British : a railroad switch

b

: a conductor joining two points in an electrical circuit so as to form a parallel or alternative path through which a portion of the current may pass (as for regulating the amount passing in the main circuit)

c

: a surgical passage created to divert a bodily fluid (such as blood) from one vessel or part to another

also : a device (such as a narrow tube) used to establish a similar passage

2

chiefly British : an accident (such as a collision between two cars) especially in auto racing

Examples of shunt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Nonetheless, time is consumed even when the content is being merely shunted along. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024

The manner in which tens of thousands of bags a day are shunted around at terminals A and B is akin to an aging car kept running with pliers and duct tape, racing from breakdown to breakdown and overheating. —Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Nov. 2024

Noun

Surgically inserting a shunt (a small tube) into the inner ear can drain fluid to improve hearing and tinnitus symptoms. —Carley Millhone, Health, 20 Oct. 2024

Glaucoma implant: Surgeons implant tiny shunts, fluid drainage devices, in a part of trabecular meshwork called the canal of Schlemm. —Mark Gurarie, Health, 3 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, to move suddenly, turn away, evade, perhaps from past participle of shonen

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

shunt

1 of 2 verb

ˈshənt 

1

: to turn off to one side or out of the way : shift

2

: to switch (as a train) from one track to another

shunter noun

shunt

2 of 2 noun

: a method or device for turning or pushing aside

especially : a conductor joining two points in an electrical circuit so as to form a path through which a portion of the current may pass

Medical Definition

shunt

1 of 2 transitive verb

ˈshənt 

: to divert by or as if by a shunt

especially : to divert (blood or other bodily fluid) from one part to another by a surgical shunt

shunt

2 of 2 noun

1

: a passage by which a bodily fluid (as blood) is diverted from one channel, circulatory path, or part to another

especially : such a passage established by surgery or occurring as an abnormality

an arteriovenous shunt

2

a

: a surgical procedure for the establishment of an artificial shunt see portacaval shunt

b

: a device (as a narrow tube) used to establish an artificial shunt

plastic shunts have been used to bypass temporarily sections of major arteries

—Johnson McGuire & Arnold Iglauer