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
CBS News, 9 Mar. 2025
Colin Kramer, a legislative representative and union steward for at the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, said his local is doing something different this year by explicitly not calling for an avoidance of a government shutdown.
—Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
The administration shut down the CBP One app that allows migrants to apply for asylum.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Plus, with just days to go before a possible government shutdown, lawmakers unveil a new bill to avoid it.
—CBS News, 9 Mar. 2025
Colin Kramer, a legislative representative and union steward for at the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, said his local is doing something different this year by explicitly not calling for an avoidance of a government shutdown.
—Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Verb
The muscles around the knee tend to shut down and shrink with startling rapidity once all that inflammation builds up around a torn ACL.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
The administration shut down the CBP One app that allows migrants to apply for asylum.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 5 Mar. 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 14 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share