to spin down
- phrasal verb
- Specialized
Examples
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So what happened in chronological order was around midnight, the decision was made to undergo this test and start spinning down the turbine.
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When the computer is idle for a few minutes, the hard drive will spin down to save energy.
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To prevent overheating, you should regularly let your fan spin down after prolonged use.
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The system is designed to spin down the motor when it is no longer needed, which helps conserve power.
Synonyms
Stop a machine, business, or system from working
Antonyms
How Slow
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to cause a device to reduce its rotational speed' is directly derivable from combining 'spin' (to rotate) with the particle 'down' (indicating reduction), following the common English verb+particle pattern. Although the use is technical (computing/electronics), the compositional logic is transparent and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Spin down comes from machines that have parts that turn, like hard drives or fans, which can slow their spin and go down to save power. That's why in computing to spin down a device means to make it slow or 'stop' turning.