I. ˈshənt verb
Etymology: Middle English, to move suddenly, turn away, evade, perhaps from past participle of shonen
Date: 13th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to turn off to one side : shift
was shunt ed aside
b. : to switch (as a train) 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
shunt ed the missiles from shelter to shelter
intransitive verb
1. : to move to the side
2. : to travel back and forth
shunt ed between the two towns
• shunt·er noun
II. noun
Date: 1842
1. : a means or mechanism for turning or thrusting aside: 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 (as blood) from one vessel or part to another ; also : a device (as a narrow tube) used to establish a similar passage
2. chiefly British : an accident (as a collision between two cars) especially in auto racing