shunt
verb
\ ˈshənt
\
\
shunted;
shunting;
shunts
Definition of shunt
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to turn off to one side : shift
was shunted aside
b
: to switch (a railroad car, a train, etc.) from one track to another
2
: to provide with or divert by means of an electrical shunt
3
: to divert (blood) from one part to another by a surgical shunt
4
: shuttle
shunted the missiles from shelter to shelter
1
: to move to the side
2
: to travel back and forth
shunted between the two towns
shunt
nounDefinition of shunt (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a means or mechanism for turning or thrusting aside: such as
a
chiefly British
: a railroad switch
b
: a conductor joining two points in an electrical circuit so as to form a parallel or alternative path through which a portion of the current may pass (as for regulating the amount passing in the main circuit)
c
: a surgical passage created to divert a bodily fluid (such as blood) from one vessel or part to another
also
: a device (such as a narrow tube) used to establish a similar passage
2
chiefly British
: an accident (such as a collision between two cars) especially in auto racing
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Examples of shunt in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
And even that is an abstraction that shunts aside various political pressures that inexorably will be felt and incorporated. — Benjamin Zycher, National Review, "The Confusions of the ‘Conservative’ Carbon Tax," 8 July 2019 Plenty of other airports have shunted Uber and Lyft pickups away from the curb, including in Nashville; Austin, Texas; and Atlanta, and at LaGuardia. — Carolyn Said, SFChronicle.com, "Ride-hail revamp at SFO — new spot designated for pickups," 5 June 2019 The more blood your heart shunts around your body and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure climbs. — Patia Braithwaite, SELF, "11 Health Conditions You Should Know About If You’re Black and Pregnant," 30 July 2019 In the 1860s James Maxwell conjured up an all-knowing demon who could shunt fast air molecules to one side of a room and slow molecules to the other, creating a temperature difference that could power an engine. — Quanta Magazine, "Swarming Bacteria Create an ‘Impossible’ Superfluid," 26 July 2018 The race was almost immediately red flagged after a collision between Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein and Geox Dragon's Max Gunther, with Wehrlein's teammate Jerome d'Ambrosio also shunting into Robin Frijns of Virgin Racing. — Paul Gittings, CNN, "Bern E-Prix: Jean Eric-Vergne closes on second straight title after Swiss success," 22 June 2019 Every year, just over half of the total budget gets shunted to enterprise departments, such as the airport, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Municipal Transportation Agency, which generate some of their own revenue. — Trisha Thadani, SFChronicle.com, "Here’s why San Francisco’s $12 billion budget seems bigger than it is," 30 June 2019 As those savings build, more of the total contributions would automatically be shunted into the retirement bucket. — Jason Zweig, WSJ, "Forget the 401(k). Let’s Invent a New Retirement Plan.," 10 Feb. 2019 As hip-hop’s growth steps have become more micro, though, truly resistant rap countermovements have been shunted even further to the fringes. — Jon Caramanica, New York Times, "Indie Rap Veterans Return to a Genre Still in Need of Opposition," 4 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
One of the best weapons against it in recent years has been implants known as aqueous shunts or glaucoma drainage devices. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Latest Glaucoma Treatment Could Be Magnets In Your Eyes," 13 Nov. 2018 All or part of it may be dark because of a broken filament or a sketchy shunt (see glossary). — David Agrell, Popular Mechanics, "How to Fix a String of Christmas Lights," 12 Oct. 2018 Drew told the news outlet that Matthew is improving but will need a new shunt before they are sent home. — Alexandria Hein, Fox News, "Parents of baby misdiagnosed with terminal brain condition in utero left fate 'in God's hands'," 28 Aug. 2018 The treatment, a shunt procedure to drain fluid from the brain, worked at first — but the Sooter family learned in May that Addy's tumor continued to spread, according to Yahoo. — Josh Magness, star-telegram, "Boy says goodbye to his little sister and 'partner in crime' as she dies from cancer," 11 June 2018 Neurosurgeons installed a shunt to relieve the pressure and doctors diagnosed the culprit: a rare type of brain tumor - slow-growing and noncancerous, though hardly benign. — Andrea Simakis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Clinic, parents clash over girl's brain tumor treatment; court to decide," 13 May 2018 The shunt was doing its work because Zara had had no dizziness or vomiting for months. — Andrea Simakis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Clinic, parents clash over girl's brain tumor treatment; court to decide," 13 May 2018 Though many months of therapy enabled him to relearn how to walk, talk and eat again, the injuries left him with scoliosis and a shunt in his head. — Donna Vickroy, Daily Southtown, "An Army vet and a man who survived a coma found friendship through science. Now they're graduating college together.," 12 May 2018 The baby is moving his legs and the brain pressure is good, which means no shunts. — Naseem S. Miller, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando Health opens fetal surgery program," 18 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shunt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for shunt
shunt
verb
English Language Learners Definition of shunt
: to move (someone or something) to a different and usually less important or noticeable place or position
: to move (a train or railway car) from one track to another
See the full definition for shunt in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shunt
verb
\ ˈshənt
\
\
shunted;
shunting
Kids Definition of shunt
1
: to turn or move off to one side or out of the way
Cattle were shunted into a corral.
2
: to switch (as a train) from one track to another
shunt
transitive verb
\ ˈshənt
\
\
Medical Definition of shunt
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to divert by or as if by a shunt
especially
: to divert (blood) from one part to another by a surgical shunt