1 A2 neutral
To stop a machine, computer, or system from operating.
"Please shut down your computer before you leave the office tonight."
separable
shut down
A2 neutral separable transitive/intransitive
To stop operating permanently or temporarily — used for machines, businesses, and systems; also to silence or stop a person.
In plain English
To turn off a machine or close a business or system so it stops working.
What does "shut down" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 A2 neutral
To close a business, factory, or service, either temporarily or permanently.
"The steel plant shut down in the 1990s and never reopened."
“
The government has shut down. Let's reopen it.
— Donald Trump, Twitter/X (January 2018)
separable
3 B1 idiomatic informal
To silence, stop, or completely neutralize a person or opposition.
"The debater was completely shut down by her opponent's evidence-based argument."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To shut (close) and bring down (to a stopped state) — fairly transparent.
Actually means
To turn off a machine or close a business or system so it stops working.
Usage tip
Extremely common in technology (shut down a computer), business (the factory shut down), and government (government shutdown). Can be transitive ('the company shut down the factory') or intransitive ('the system shut down'). Also used figuratively to mean silencing someone.
Words that pair with "shut down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
computer factory server government reactor operation
How to conjugate "shut down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
shut down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
shuts down
he/she/it
Past simple
shut down
yesterday
Past participle
shut down
have + pp
-ing form
shutting down
continuous
Hear "shut down" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "shut down" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.