Cambridge Dictionaries online Cambridge Dictionaries online

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English

  

shut (sth) down

phrasal verb with shut
 
 
/ʃʌt/ verb [I or T] (present tense shutting, past tense and past participle shut)

Definition

B1 If a business or a large piece of equipment shuts down or someone shuts it down, it stops operating: The company plans to shut down four factories and cut 10,000 jobs. The crew shut down the right-hand engine of the aircraft.Not functioningStarting, succeeding and failing in business
(Definition of shut (sth) down from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Word of the Day

throw sb together

If two people are thrown together, they meet each other in a way that was not planned, or events...

Word of the Day

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.

Learn More