shutdown

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See also: shut down and shut-down

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

Deverbal from shut down.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)

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.
    There is a plastic molly-guard covering the escalator's shutdown button to prevent little kids from pushing it and stopping the escalator.
    • 2023 December 27, David Turner, “Silent lines...”, in RAIL, number 999, page 30:
      In 1963, there was even more of a shutdown . The Western and London Midland Regions ran no trains, with the rest of the network having the "barest of skeleton services". The Daily Herald called Beeching's cuts "the most scrooge-like... in railway history".
  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. (psychology, autism) An autistic response to stress or sensory overload, in which the individual freezes up and becomes silent, motionless, and unresponsive.
    • 2018, Laura James, Odd Girl Out: My Extraordinary Autistic Life, unnumbered page:
      I retreated into myself and allowed myself to be swallowed into a typically autistic shutdown.
    • 2020, Siena Castellon, The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, page 34:
      I may even reach the point where I have an autistic shutdown, which means I'll be unable to communicate, interact or socialize.
    • 2021, Carly Jones, Safeguarding Autistic Girls: Strategies for Professionals, pages 61–62:
      Their distress could come out in all sorts of ways and result in meltdown or shutdown.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:shutdown.
  4. (sports) A defensive ploy that prevents the opposing players from attacking.

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