as in cessations
the stopping of a process or activity
the utility company threatened them with the shutoff of electricity if the bills weren't paid
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Recent Examples of shutoffs
The process was used to reduce the impact in Boulder in March when strong winds and hot, dry weather led Xcel to warn of possible shutoffs.
—
Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
Most utility companies maintain lists of households with medical devices, and they are supposed to notify customers ahead of power shutoffs and prioritize restoring power to their homes.
—Katherine Asmussen, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
The businesses in an industrial park on the outer edge of Fort Collins are banding together and expressing their frustrations about recent power shutoffs by Xcel Energy.
—Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
When public safety power shutoffs last days, how do families, small businesses, hospitals, and first responders operate?
—Suzette Valladares, Oc Register, 15 Feb. 2026
The bill also orders utilities to implement low-income financial assistance programs and creates a moratorium for electricity shutoffs during warmer weather.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 29 Jan. 2026
Those forms would help volunteers gather information needed to verify people’s situations — an eviction, utility shutoffs, or food stamps, among other issues — to make sure the nonprofit could help them.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Dec. 2025
The fierce Santa Ana winds blowing dry desert air over the mountains and out to sea had already triggered public safety power shutoffs.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024
Some 3,300 customers in the Malibu area remained without power, due to safety shutoffs and for firefighter safety.
—Christopher Weber, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
Most utility companies maintain lists of households with medical devices, and they are supposed to notify customers ahead of power shutoffs and prioritize restoring power to their homes.
—Katherine Asmussen, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
The businesses in an industrial park on the outer edge of Fort Collins are banding together and expressing their frustrations about recent power shutoffs by Xcel Energy.
—Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
When public safety power shutoffs last days, how do families, small businesses, hospitals, and first responders operate?
—Suzette Valladares, Oc Register, 15 Feb. 2026
The bill also orders utilities to implement low-income financial assistance programs and creates a moratorium for electricity shutoffs during warmer weather.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 29 Jan. 2026
Those forms would help volunteers gather information needed to verify people’s situations — an eviction, utility shutoffs, or food stamps, among other issues — to make sure the nonprofit could help them.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Dec. 2025
The fierce Santa Ana winds blowing dry desert air over the mountains and out to sea had already triggered public safety power shutoffs.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024
Some 3,300 customers in the Malibu area remained without power, due to safety shutoffs and for firefighter safety.
—Christopher Weber, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shutoffs
Noun
-
Temporary cessations of hostility, but no permanent closing of the moral and social divide between debtor and creditor, and no giving up on the thought that some lives matter more than others.—
Henry Freedland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Former leaders warn that the loss of institutional knowledge, combined with halts to the incoming pipeline of public health workers, may lead to a long-term crisis.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Automotive industry analysts are forecasting that another microchip shortage could hit in the coming months, which could increase risks for production halts as costs skyrocket.—
Breana Noble,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
During the seven- or eight-month process of editing a movie, there are often different approaches to endings and to beginnings as well.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2026
-
As in the less conclusive first season, it feels engineered to deliver the characters to happy, or relatively happy, endings, and to send viewers out not regretting their investment of time.—
Robert Lloyd,
Boston Herald,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Soccer’s governing bodies have struggled for decades to eliminate racial abuse despite heavy fines, stadium closures, points deductions, halted matches and bans for both fans and players who break the rules.—
Carlos Rodriguez,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The school district has the master plan shared online with a full list of closures and plans for each district building.—
Tom Dougherty,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The shutdowns began last month on Art Rooney Avenue, West General Robinson Street and Scottland Avenue on the North Shore, and continued in the days leading up to the draft.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
While recent gas price increases can mostly be tied to conflict in the Iran war, the annual switch to summer-blend gasoline and refinery shutdowns are also pushing prices higher in California.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
El Niño and La Niña are opposite ends of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation -- a climate phenomenon based on water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that influences temperatures and precipitation around the globe, according to the NOAA.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2026
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Doing so will disenfranchise small mom-and-pop property owners who depend on rental properties for their retirement and to make ends meet.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The stoppages allow for weird moments of drama and the emergence of characters.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Much of the work will take place between the two major closures, PennDOT said, adding that crews will keep a lane open in both directions, except for intermittent 15-minute stoppages.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shutoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shutoffs. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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