shunt
shunt Lexical Profile
shunt Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small surgical passage or implanted tube that allows blood or other fluid to move from one part of the body to another.
"The neurosurgeon placed a cerebral shunt to relieve the excess fluid pressure on the patient's brain."
An electrical conductor joining two points of a circuit, over which a fraction of the current may pass to regulate or measure the flow.
"The technician installed a low-resistance shunt across the ammeter terminals to safely measure the high current."
An act of pushing, diverting, or switching a train or other object from one track or path to another.
"A quick shunt into the freight siding cleared the main line for the express passenger train."
British A minor collision between motor vehicles, especially one in which a vehicle is struck from behind.
"Traffic on the motorway was delayed for an hour following a three-car shunt in the rain."
• verb
To push, shove, or divert someone or something to a different, often less important or less prominent place or position.
"The reorganization saw several veteran managers shunted into purely advisory roles."
British To move or switch a train or railway carriages from one track to another, especially onto a siding.
"The yard locomotive spent the morning shunting empty coal wagons onto the secondary track."
To divert an electrical current or bodily fluid from its normal path by providing an alternative circuit or channel.
"The valve automatically shunts excess blood flow away from the damaged vessel."
• Rhymes for shunt
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'shunten' (to flinch or shrink away), of uncertain origin, possibly related to 'shun' or Old Norse 'skunda' (to hasten).