shut down

Formsshuts down, shutting down, shut down

1. 1
   close (business)phrasal verbtransitive

   To close or end something such as a business, building, or program, or, of a business or facility, to close and stop operating.

   Regulators moved to shut down the clinic after a failed inspection.

   Many ski resorts shut down for the summer, and crews use the break for repairs.

   Similarclose, shutter

   Oppositeopen

   Note

   With an object the phrase is separable: officials shut down the plant or shut the plant down, but a pronoun must sit in the middle, as in shut it down. Without an object it describes the place closing on its own, as when a factory is about to shut down or a heritage railway shuts down for the winter months.

2. 2
   turn offphrasal verbtransitive or intransitive

   To turn off or stop working, or to make a machine, engine, or system turn off or stop.

   The pilot had to shut down one engine and land on the other.

   The reactor shut down automatically when sensors detected a coolant leak.

   Similarstop

   Oppositestart (entry)

3. 3
   withdraw emotionallyphrasal verbfigurativelyintransitive

   To withdraw emotionally into oneself as a defense, blocking out outside sources of stress.

   She tends to shut down during arguments, going quiet until everyone else leaves the room.

   After the diagnosis, he shut down for weeks and barely spoke to anyone.

   Similarwithdraw

   Note

   The image is a machine switching itself off: the person stays but stops responding. It takes no object, and the difference matters, because she shut down says she withdrew, while they shut her down says others silenced her or dismissed what she offered, which is the rejecting sense.

4. 4
   noun · shut-down

   Alternative form of shutdown.

   Engineers scheduled a two-day shut-down of the plant for maintenance.

   The government shut-down closed national parks and delayed thousands of paychecks.

   Note

   The noun is written closed as shutdown or hyphenated as shut-down, and the hyphenated spelling makes its plural shut-downs. The verb it comes from stays two words, as in they shut down the plant, so the hyphen is the sign of the noun: a shut-down, but to shut down.

5. 5
   suppressphrasal verbfigurativelytransitive

   To push aside and refuse to entertain an idea, or to stifle some part of one's own character or identity.

   Growing up, he learned to shut down any feelings his family considered weak.

   The committee shut down the proposal before anyone could explain it.

   Similarsuppress, reject, quash, stifle

   Note

   The object can be an idea, the person who offers it, or a part of oneself: management shuts down a proposal or shuts its author down, and someone may spend years shutting down feelings they were taught to hide. Aimed at another person it is blunt, close to silencing them.

6. 6
   overtake (racing)phrasal verbslangtransitive

   In car racing and car culture, to pass another vehicle, especially quickly.

   On the drag strip, the Chevy shut down the Ford in the final hundred yards.

   Kids gathered on Friday nights to see whose hot rod could shut down the rest.

   Similarovertake, pass

   Note

   The phrase is hot-rod slang from the drag strip, and it belongs among racers and car enthusiasts rather than in ordinary driving talk. The Beach Boys made it the title of their 1963 drag-racing song "Shut Down", which helped carry the word beyond the strip.

Showing meanings only. Show all 6