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Shut down meaning

Shut down means to close a business or factory so it stops working, often for ever. It can also mean to turn off a computer or machine in the correct way.

Check yourself: 3 questions

shut something down

shut down · shut · shutting

B2Separable+2 more meanings

The steel factory shut down in 2015.

Shut down meanings and examples

3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.

  1. 1close a business or factory so it stops working, often for ever
  2. 2turn off a computer or machine in the correct way
  3. 3stop showing your feelings or talking to people (informal)
  1. 1

    Close a business or factory so it stops working, often for ever

    shut something down

    B2Separable

    • The steel factory shut down in 2015.
    • The city wants to shut down the old airport.
    • Why did they shut the café down?
  2. 2

    Turn off a computer or machine in the correct way

    shut something down

    B2Separable

    • Don’t forget to shut down your laptop before you leave.
    • My computer shut down in the middle of my essay!
    • Shut it down and start it again.
  3. 3

    Stop showing your feelings or talking to people (informal)

    shut down

    C1No object

    • When I ask about his dad, he just shuts down.
    • She shut down after the argument and went quiet.
    • Try not to shut down when people criticise you.
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Is shut down separable?

Shut down can have no object: The shop shut down. With an object, it is separable: shut down the computer, shut the computer down, shut it down.

The noun shutdown, one word, means a time when a business, government or machine stops working: a government shutdown.

Verb tenses for shut down

PresentI shut down · she shuts down
Pastshut down
Present perfecthave shut down
-ing formshutting down

Common mistakes with shut down

What learners often say, and what to say instead.

  • Wrong: Please shut down it before you go.

    Right: Please shut it down before you go.

    A pronoun goes between shut and down.

  • Wrong: The shop has shut up for ever.

    Right: The shop has shut down for ever.

    For a business closing for good, use shut down or close down.

  • Wrong: The factory shutted down last year.

    Right: The factory shut down last year.

    Shut does not change in the past.

Synonyms and opposites of shut down

Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.

Similar

Opposite

Shut down quiz

Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

  1. 1After 40 years, the old cinema finally ___.

  2. 2Choose the right sentence.

  3. 3“Every time we talk about money, she shuts down.” What does she do?

More phrasal verbs with shut

2 phrasal verbs start with shut. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.

Test yourself on shutTake the full test

Shut down FAQ

Questions people ask about shut down.

Shut down vs close down: what is the difference?

For businesses they mean the same. Shut down is also used for computers and machines. You do not usually close down a laptop.

Shut down vs turn off: what is the difference?

Turn off is general: turn off the light. Shut down is for computers and big systems, and suggests the full, correct way of stopping.

What is a shutdown?

A shutdown is a time when something stops working, like a factory for repairs or a government that has no money to pay workers.

Use shut down in real conversations

In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.

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