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
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
Although the wind forecast sparked concerns about widespread power outages among utility providers, most Front Range companies reported limited power cuts, especially compared with the sweeping public safety power shutoffs that hit tens of thousands of Front Range customers in December.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 18 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
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
Although the wind forecast sparked concerns about widespread power outages among utility providers, most Front Range companies reported limited power cuts, especially compared with the sweeping public safety power shutoffs that hit tens of thousands of Front Range customers in December.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 18 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
-
Wrexham’s penchant for Hollywood endings means nothing can be discounted until the mathematicians say so.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
And to jump ahead, the endings are completely different.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As some businesses across the Greater Sacramento region are announcing layoffs and closures, one high-tech company in Rancho Cordova is actually expanding.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
It’s survived trends, closures, expansions, contractions and Charlotte’s constant identity shifts.—
Timothy DePeugh,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Sergei Anokhin of Beeline and Khachatur Pombukhchan of Megafon said that instead of cellphone internet shutdowns, operators could just identify suspicious users and restrict them, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The agency has been under a microscope over the past year as two government shutdowns, one in October 2025 and the current DHS appropriations lapse, which began in February 2026, led to hourslong airport security lines as TSA officers had to work without pay.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Yet the homage to Badinter proved strikingly uncontroversial, with politicians from opposite ends of the political spectrum striving to claim him as one of their own.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Wyatt’s record-setting season ends at 17-8-1.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Given that a successful appeal would see the challenge retained, there could theoretically be a large amount of stoppages.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shutoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shutoffs. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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