shutdown
noun
Simple meaning
The action of stopping operations.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shuhtdownSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃʌtdaʊn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The action of stopping operations; a closing, of a computer, business, event, etc.
A statement, insult, etc. that prevents the opponent from replying further.
Termination of operations
psychologyautism
An autistic response to stress or sensory overload, in which the individual freezes up and becomes silent, motionless, and unresponsive.
ukslang
A big success; a hyped atmosphere.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The action of stopping operations; a closing, of a computer, business, event, etc.
Used this way, shutdown is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a computing use: it carries a fixed technical meaning inside software and systems work.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technology
- Technical/specialist writing
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.