to shut off
13
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /ʃʌt ɔf/
- The government decided to shut off all communication with the neighboring country during the crisis.
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Watch on YouTubeSo when Josh died, it's just like something in him shut off.
- So when Josh died, it's just like something in him shut off.
- But it's so hard to get to that place because I'm so shut off.
- So as me and we stay guarded and now we've shut off our hearts really from really expressing the full essence of who we are.
Examples
-
Carefully, he lowered the window back into place, shutting off the sound of blows and the cries of his mother.
Fiction book (1991) -
And you know we can't afford a new deposit... if the phone gets shut off.
-
My power's been shut off.
-
And she just kicked him out and shut off all connection with him.
Blog text (19) -
They shut off the phones and the electricity at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
-
After the storm damage, the city had to shut off the electricity to several neighborhoods for safety.
-
To create a peaceful environment, she chose to shut off her phone and disconnect from social media.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To make something end and not continue
∞
1.0
To shut something so it is not open
∞
2.9
Stop a machine, business, or system from working
816
1.3
To stop a machine or device from working with a switch
601
3.8
To stop something suddenly before it is finished
228
3.9
To stop something officially for a short time
186
3.5
Make a device or feature stop working
175
2.9
To stop operating permanently, like a shop or company
112
3.8
To stop something from entering, being included, or being thought about
104
3.5
To separate something so it is no longer joined, for example remove a cable or turn off power
78
5.5
To stop something from going on by removing support like money
76
3.9
To make a device, system, or account stop working
64
3.9
Stop people or vehicles from entering a place
54
1.1
To stop a machine or light by using a control such as a button
49
3.9
Stop people from entering or leaving an area by blocking it
48
1.0
To switch a light so it stops shining
47
2.7
To switch off a light or machine
33
3.8
Close a road, path or entrance so people cannot go through
22
6.3
Stop people entering or leaving an area by using police and barriers
19
5.1
Surround something completely so it cannot get out or move
8
6.4
To stop a supply by blocking its source or flow
5
5.5
Keep people and things in a place where they cannot leave or be seen
1
2.5
Remove a device's plug from the socket so it has no power
Antonyms
How Connected
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to isolate or prevent connection' is directly derivable from combining 'shut' (to close) with 'off' (not operating / away), since together they signal closing or deactivating something so it no longer connects. This verb+particle composition is common in English and mirrored in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Shut off also comes from the image of closing a space or line so no one can get in: when you shut a room off you cut it from the rest of the house, and when a person 'shuts off' they close themselves away. So it means 'to isolate' or 'to stop contact'.