Library / English Dictionary

SHUNT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Implant consisting of a tube made of plastic or rubber; for draining fluids within the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shunt" is a kind of...):

implant (a prosthesis placed permanently in tissue)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current

Synonyms:

bypass; electrical shunt; shunt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shunt" is a kind of...):

conductor (a device designed to transmit electricity, heat, etc.)

Holonyms ("shunt" is a part of...):

circuit; electric circuit; electrical circuit (an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow)

Derivation:

shunt (provide with or divert by means of an electrical shunt)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A passage by which a bodily fluid (especially blood) is diverted from one channel to another

Example:

an arteriovenus shunt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("shunt" is a kind of...):

passage; passageway (a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shunt"):

bypass (a surgically created shunt (usually around a damaged part))

portacaval shunt (shunt that is created surgically between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava so that blood from the abdominal organs can bypass the liver)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Transfer to another track, of trains

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "shunt" is one way to...):

shift; transfer (move around)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

shunter (a small locomotive used to move cars around but not to make trips)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Provide with or divert by means of an electrical shunt

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "shunt" is one way to...):

deviate (cause to turn away from a previous or expected course)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

shunt (a conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A syndrome characterized by the reversal of a septal defect-associated left-to-right shunt due to the resulting secondary pulmonary hypertension.

(Eisenmenger Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

The shunt moves the cerebrospinal fluid to another area of the body where it can be absorbed.

(Hydrocephalus, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)