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
Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
The combination of the shutdown, colleagues’ retirements, and policy changes had left her depleted and often physically sick.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
Cerys Jones, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The first outage was caused by a loose wire in the ship's switchboard that became disconnected, causing the Dali's main engine to shut down because the pumps that supplied water to cool the engine turned off, the NTSB said.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
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Noun
The shutdowns appeared to hit California later than other universities and schools elsewhere in the nation.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
The combination of the shutdown, colleagues’ retirements, and policy changes had left her depleted and often physically sick.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
Verb
Being too patient in the build-up also allowed City to recover their shape and shut down crossing opportunities.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The first outage was caused by a loose wire in the ship's switchboard that became disconnected, causing the Dali's main engine to shut down because the pumps that supplied water to cool the engine turned off, the NTSB said.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
Cite this Entry
“Shutdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shutdown. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
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