shunt

[ shuhnt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to shove or turn (someone or something) aside or out of the way.
2. to sidetrack; get rid of.
3. Electricity.
   1. to divert (a part of a current) by connecting a circuit element in parallel with another.
   2. to place or furnish with a shunt.
4. Railroads. to shift (rolling stock) from one track to another; switch.
5. Surgery.
   1. to divert blood or other fluid by means of a shunt.
   2. the tube itself.
6. to move or turn aside or out of the way.
7. (of a locomotive with rolling stock) to move from track to track or from point to point, as in a railroad yard; switch.

noun

1. the act of shunting; shift.
2. Also called bypass. Electricity. a conducting element bridged across a circuit or a portion of a circuit, establishing a current path auxiliary to the main circuit, as a resistor placed across the terminals of an ammeter for increasing the range of the device.
3. a railroad switch.
4. Surgery. a channel through which blood or other bodily fluid is diverted from its normal path by surgical reconstruction or by a synthetic tube.
5. Anatomy. an anastomosis.

adjective

1. Electricity. being, having, or operating by means of a shunt:

   a shunt circuit; a shunt generator.

shunt

/ ʃʌnt /

verb

1. to turn or cause to turn to one side; move or be moved aside
2. railways to transfer (rolling stock) from track to track
3. electronics to divert or be diverted through a shunt
4. tr to evade by putting off onto someone else
5. slang.
   tr motor racing to crash (a car)

noun

1. the act or an instance of shunting
2. a railway point
3. electronics a low-resistance conductor connected in parallel across a device, circuit, or part of a circuit to provide an alternative path for a known fraction of the current
4. med a channel that bypasses the normal circulation of the blood: a congenital abnormality or surgically induced
5. informal.
   a collision which occurs when a vehicle runs into the back of the vehicle in front

Other Words From

• shunter noun
• un·shunted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shunt¹

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English schunten, shonten to shy (said of horses); (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.; akin to shun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shunt¹

C13: perhaps from shunen to shun

Example Sentences

In other words, what might have seemed like a mutually convenient layby into which Ms Gray could be shunted, ended up perpetuating a rather public soap opera.

From BBC

The world champions were rocking, but a decision to go for the short side gave life to their defence and the Scots were shunted back and eventually turned over.

From BBC

He swaggered out into this magnificent drum of noise with a gallus grin, licked his lips, made straight for Marchand's blocks, and gave them a shunt.

From BBC

She did have a speaking role on the main stage at the RNC, but they shunted her to Monday night, the holding dock for the figures the party least wished to highlight.

From Salon

Later that year he met Bannon, who had just been shunted out of his White House post.

From BBC

Related Words

• curve
• dangle
• flap
• fluctuate
• hang
• lurch
• pitch
• pivot
• rotate
• sway
• swivel
• turn
• twirl
• veer
• wave
• whirl
• wiggle
• wobble