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
Chad De Guzman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
That leaves Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting as the main economic report to watch in the coming week as the central bank is self-funded and unaffected by the shutdown.
—Danny Bakst, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Is the federal government still shut down?
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutdown
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Noun
Advertisement The suspension, however, was an administrative one and did not amount to the app’s shutdown, Alexander told Bloomberg.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
That leaves Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting as the main economic report to watch in the coming week as the central bank is self-funded and unaffected by the shutdown.
—Danny Bakst, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
Southbound Capital City Freeway on-ramp to Highway 50 east is shut down.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Is the federal government still shut down?
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 7 Oct. 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 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shutdown
noun
shut·down
ˈshət-ˌdau̇n 
: an ending of an activity
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