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
Staff Author, People.com, 8 May 2025
Nearly as many voiced the same opinion about the shutdown of the humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans, which had previously provided a legal pathway before being suspended.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 17 May 2025
Georgie suits up and makes his best pitch to a loan officer at the local bank, but is shut down.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
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Noun
This week: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce skipped out on the 2025 Met Gala for a very simple reason, Rihanna reveals her baby bump after the carpet shutdown, Zendaya and Anna Sawai wear almost identical looks and Hailey Bieber attends the event without Justin Bieber amid fan concern for the singer.
—Staff Author, People.com, 8 May 2025
Nearly as many voiced the same opinion about the shutdown of the humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans, which had previously provided a legal pathway before being suspended.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Verb
Particularly in less densely populated parts of America, plenty of government officials and citizens still hold a grudge over the way businesses and schools were temporarily shut down.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 17 May 2025
Georgie suits up and makes his best pitch to a loan officer at the local bank, but is shut down.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 16 May 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 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
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