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
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
Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
These could possibly include forcing a government shutdown to push the Trump White House away from their moves toward authoritarianism and back toward a situation that elicits dialogue, negotiations, and compromise.
—Ewan Palmer, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Nicholas Komu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
The original plan for that year was to spend half of the time in the West African nation of Togo, but the universities there ended up shutting down due to political instability.
—Brad Pearce, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
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Noun
Air traffic control, law enforcement, border protection, power grid maintenance and Social Security and Medicare payments would continue under a shutdown.
—Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
These could possibly include forcing a government shutdown to push the Trump White House away from their moves toward authoritarianism and back toward a situation that elicits dialogue, negotiations, and compromise.
—Ewan Palmer, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
Trump’s order seeks to review almost all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days, and his administration has moved to shut down USAID.
—Nicholas Komu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
The original plan for that year was to spend half of the time in the West African nation of Togo, but the universities there ended up shutting down due to political instability.
—Brad Pearce, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
Cite this Entry
“Shutdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shutdown. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
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