shut offverb

• 1

  To stop or turn off by closing something, such as a valve.

  • Richardson dropped into the six-foot between the two engines, ran for a few yards, grabbed Mitchell's engine, and swung himself up. Mitchell had got to his feet by this time, but he made no move. Richardson shut off steam, reversed her, and brought her to a stand.
• 2

  To switch off.

  • “You can forget about going to that party on Saturday if you don't shut off that video game right now!”
• 3

  To separate; to isolate.

  • After his wife died, he shut himself off from the world.
  • In the latter years of its existence, BR was rationalising its estate by pulling down station buildings which were too large for its modern operational needs, or by shutting off parts of them when demolition was not an option. Kilmarnock station falls into this latter category. It dominates the townscape, but its operational importance has seriously diminished since electrification of the West Coast Main Line.