shutoff

shutoff or shut-off [shuht-awf, -of] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin noun

1. an object or device that shuts (something) off: the automatic shutoff on a heater.
2. an act or instance of shutting off something, as an opening, a flow, or a service: a shutoff of electric power due to unpaid bills.

Origin of shutoff First recorded in 1865–70; noun use of verb phrase shut off shut [shuht] verb (used with object), shut, shut·ting.

1. to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
2. to close the doors of (often followed by up): to shut up a shop for the night.
3. to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts: Shut your book. Shut the window!
4. to confine; enclose: to shut a bird into a cage.
5. to bar; exclude: They shut him from their circle.
6. to cause (a factory, school, etc.) to end or suspend operations, services, or business activity: He shut his store, sold his house, and moved away. We’re shutting the office for two weeks in June.
7. to bolt; bar.

verb (used without object), shut, shut·ting.

8. to become shut or closed; close.

adjective

9. closed; fastened up: a shut door.
10. Phonetics. checked(def 2).

noun

11. the act or time of shutting or closing.
12. the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.

Verb Phrases

13. shut down,
    1. to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
    2. to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine): Did you remember to shut down your computer?
    3. Also shut down on/upon.Informal.to hinder; check; stop from doing or saying something: He appeared on the talk show to shut down his critics.
    4. Informal.to defeat or outdo:The team was able to shut down the offense.
    5. to settle over so as to envelop or darken: The fog shut down rapidly.
14. shut in,
    1. to enclose.
    2. to confine, as from illness: She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
15. shut of, Informal. free of; rid of: He wished he were shut of all his debts.
16. shut off,
    1. to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
    2. to isolate; separate: an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
17. shut out,
    1. to keep from entering; exclude.
    2. to hide from view.
    3. to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
18. shut up,
    1. to imprison; confine.
    2. to close entirely.
    3. to stop talking; become silent: I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
    4. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.

Origin of shut before 1000; Middle English s(c)hutten, s(c)hetten, s(c)hitten Old English scyttan “to bolt (a door)”; akin to shoot1 Related formshalf-shut, adjectivere·shut, verb, re·shut, re·shut·ting.un·shut, adjectiveSynonyms for shut 4. jail, imprison, cage. 5. prohibit.Synonym study 1. See close.Antonyms for shut 1. open. Examples from the Web for shut-off Contemporary Examples of shut-off

But the shut-off proved to be short lived and by 2002 Pakistan was already providing sanctuary for Mullah Omar.

A Shady Taliban Capture

Bruce Riedel

August 24, 2010

Historical Examples of shut-off

It has no shut-off control, and if it did have, I wouldn’t use it.

The Black Star Passes

John W Campbell

The float may then be adjusted to a shut-off position for the inlet valve.

The Boy Mechanic, Book 2

Various

The shut-off valve at the top of the device is interposed between the sediment cup and the carburetor.

Aviation Engines

Victor Wilfred Pag

Evans sealed the turbine from the rest of the steam system by closing the shut-off valves.

All Day September

Roger Kuykendall

He knew every inch of plumbing; where every shut-off, valve, ventilator, and stopcock was located.

Walter and the Wireless

Sara Ware Bassett

British Dictionary definitions for shut-off shut-off noun

1. a device that shuts something off, esp a machine control
2. a stoppage or cessation

verb shut off (tr, adverb)

3. to stem the flow of
4. to block off the passage through
5. to isolate or separate

shut verb shuts, shutting or shut

1. to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; closeto shut a door
2. to close (something) by bringing together the partsto shut a book
3. (tr often foll by up) to close or lock the doors ofto shut up a house
4. (tr; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or excludeto shut a child in a room
5. (tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
6. shut one’s eyes to to ignore deliberately
7. shut the door on
   1. to refuse to think about
   2. to render impossible

adjective

8. closed or fastened

noun

9. the act or time of shutting
10. the line along which pieces of metal are welded
11. get shut of or get shot of slang to get rid of

See also shutdown, shut-off, shutout, shut up Word Origin for shut Old English scyttan; related to Old Frisian sketta to shut in, Middle Dutch schutten to obstruct Word Origin and History for shut-off shut v.

Old English scyttan “to put (a bolt) in place so as to fasten a door or gate, bolt, shut to; discharge, pay off,” from West Germanic *skutjan (cf. Old Frisian schetta, Middle Dutch schutten “to shut, shut up, obstruct”), from PIE *skeud- “to shoot, chase, throw” (see shoot (v.)). Related: Shutting.

Meaning “to close by folding or bringing together” is from mid-14c. Meaning “prevent ingress and egress” is from mid-14c. Sense of “to set (someone) free (from)” (c.1500) is obsolete except in dialectal phrases such as to get shut of. To shut (one’s) mouth “desist from speaking” is recorded from mid-14c.

Idioms and Phrases with shut-off shut

In addition to the idioms beginning with shut

shut down

shut off

shut one’s eyes to

shut out

shut the door

shut up

also see:

close (shut) down

close (shut) one’s eyes to

close (shut) the door on

keep one’s mouth shut

open and shut case

put up or shut up