Word.ws English Dictionary

shut-down

shut-down is the alternative form of shutdown.

Meaning of shutdown

Noun

shutdown (countable and uncountable, plural shutdowns)

  1. The action of stopping operations; a closing, of a computer, business, event, etc.
    • You need to enter your password at startup, but it's not required at shutdown.
    Synonyms:
    shuttering
  2. A statement, insult, etc. that prevents the opponent from replying further.
    • When he insulted me, my reply was such a shutdown that he left the room.
  3. (autism) An autistic response to stress or sensory overload, in which the individual freezes up and becomes silent, motionless, and unresponsive.
    • I retreated into myself and allowed myself to be swallowed into a typically autistic shutdown.2018, Laura James, Odd Girl Out: My Extraordinary Autistic Life, unnumbered page
  4. A defensive ploy that prevents the opposing players from attacking.
  5. (UK, slang) A big success; a hyped atmosphere.
    • Fashion week and it's shutdown / Went to the show, sitting in the front row / In a black tracksuit and it's shutdown2015, “Shutdown”, performed by Skepta

Forms of shut-down

pluralshut-downs

Origin of shut-down

Deverbal from shut down.

Questions about shut-down

What is shut-down the alternative form of?
Shut-down is the alternative form of shutdown.

Words near shut-down in the dictionary

  1. shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
  2. shut up
  3. shut up and take my money
  4. shut up like a clam
  5. shut up shop
  6. shut-down
  7. shut-downs
  8. shut-eye
  9. shut-in
  10. shut-ins
  11. shut-off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shut-down (page history and authors); shutdown (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “shut-down.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shut-down. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.