1with object and adverbial of direction Push or pull (a train or part of a train) from the main line to a siding or from one line of rails to another.

他们的火车已被转到岔线上。

1. 1.1 Push or shove (someone or something)
   把…推到一边
   chairs were being shunted to and fro

   椅子正被来回推动。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Patients are being shunted around the city because there are not enough A&E beds.
   • Originally sited in the Guildhall, it was soon shunted off to Exhibition Buildings, then, 50 years ago, to West Bank Park.
   • Other cases have seen thieves shunt a vehicle and confront the owner after they leave their car to inspect the damage.
   • As the second vehicle was shunted to the side of the road, officers saw Smith apparently waving a weapon.
   • Their sedan collided with an articulated lorry already in the outside lane when they pulled out to overtake and were shunted into the path of an oncoming mini van.
   • Travellers are shunted into sites that are like urban slums, only without the amenities.
   • He ploughed into a metal container, which was shunted 60 ft before coming to rest within inches of the bungalow.
   • A lorry nine times the weight of the minibus struck the bus head-on, flipping it over and over, and shunting it back up the hill.
   • The result is that patients from far-flung areas have begun to displace local patients, causing the latter to be shunted elsewhere or simply refused admission.
   • A surfeit of properties being shunted onto the market by owners keen to cash in and growing concern over the number of Leith harbour developments are being blamed.
   • He attempted to cover up his blunders by shunting the blame onto dead subordinates.
   • Eddie's going to show Carr what was lost by shunting him to the backbench.
   • The train operating companies have shunted all the blame onto Railtrack and have received compensation for delays.
   • He shunted firmly into the sidings the prospect of granting long-term rights to run certain services, seeking to speed the pace of improvement.
   • They mainly involved cars skidding into fence posts and shunting other vehicles.
   • Several other Argus executives were also shunted sideways.
   • This year, the Super League clubs' entry into the competition was put back six weeks, while the final has been shunted back to September 18, ahead of the Super League play-offs.
   • Rams boss Jim Smith claimed today's win had shunted his side to within five points of their 39-point target for safety and praised his defence for another sterling rearguard performance.
   • The trouble with labelling fiction is that it can get shunted into the sidings of literature.
   • Left with nothing but the clothes on his back, he was shunted between neighbours in Ruxley Lane and grandparents in Clapham and Croydon.
2. 1.2 Direct or divert to a less important place or position.
   把…撇在一边；闲置；搁置
   amateurs were gradually being shunted to filing jobs

   业余人员正渐渐转岗从事文件整理工作。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • In Ohio, more than 155,000 voters were shunted to these second-class ballots.
   • Autograph seekers who had waited outside in the rain for hours were shunted aside by thuggish bodyguards as Mr. Crumb was whisked into a stretch limo.
   • It is an ability that stood in him good stead as he was shunted around the back three until eventually finding his way back to his natural starting position at No.10.
   • The waiting list report from Audit Scotland, while clearing trusts of fiddling figures, found some operating a two-tier system, with patients being shunted on to ‘deferred’ lists.
   • Thank you for coming and helping us and liberating us, but that doesn't mean shunting us to the sides.
   • The chances of his enemies shunting him onto the back benches have not.
   • But he'd been shunted into staff jobs instead of command positions in World War II.
   • After the merger of her company, Anna, a divorced mother, finds herself suddenly removed from her old position and shunted about, even humiliated.
   • When a freelance writer in his fifties or sixties once came in to pitch stories, uninterested senior editors shunted him down to Macfarlane.
   • All four West Lothian candidates were shunted out.
   • For far too long now, the youths have had the feeling of having been shunted into the position of secondary citizens.
   • To top it all, heads of civic organisations were shunted out to inconspicuous postings when major projects were in crucial stages.
   • When it was determined not to be a Rembrandt at all, it was shunted off to a hidden corner The painting hasn't changed, but the meaning of it has for its viewers.
   • It is hardly a secret that one of the main reasons he was shunted out of the cabinet and into the party organisation was the friction that had risen between him and Advani.

2with object Provide (an electrical current) with a conductor joining two points of a circuit, through which more or less of the current may be diverted.

1An act of pushing or shoving something.

1. 1.1British informal A motor accident, especially a collision of vehicles travelling one close behind the other.
   〈英，非正式〉撞车事故（尤指追尾事故）
   a lorry shed its load, causing an eight-vehicle shunt

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Meanwhile, an advanced new system with brake support and automatic braking will help avoid rear-end shunts.
   • There was a crash in practice on Fri day, for instance, to go with a couple of shunts in pre-season testing.
   • No one likes crashing and it was obviously a horrible feeling for the next few days after such a big shunt.
   • Set to rejoin the Porsche Club Championship, meanwhile, is Mark Lillington in a 968CS that has been reshelled after a major shunt at Brands in September 2004.
   • To recover from the shunt on Saturday and go on to win the second event was very satisfying indeed.
   • Mason who had already won the Dutch championships would have clinched the European title earlier but for a major shunt on an earlier round which necessitated the introduction of the safety car.
   • There were a number of near accidents and shunts after the work was completed because vehicles were unable to stop.
   • Keighley traffic police reported that although there were a number of minor shunts, there had been no serious accidents.
   • ‘As a general rule, people drive too close together, which affects the number of shunts we get,’ he said.
   • Despite a promising start to the race for both cars, the succession of shunts soon took their toll on the machinery, rendering the result immaterial and survival the only goal.
   • At about 9am, five vehicles were involved in a shunt in thick fog on the A64 at Barton Hill.
   • At roundabouts, zebra crossings, crossroads and traffic lights, rear-end shunts can cause serious injury and, in some extreme cases, death.
   • Rear-end shunts alone cost UK plc in the region of £3bn annually, when medical treatment and time off work are factored in.
   • There was heavy traffic on Sunday because the weather was good and a lot of people were going up to the Dales, but the traffic kept moving, there were no shunts or near accidents.

   Synonyms

   crash, accident, smash, bump, knock, impact, hit, strike, clash

2An electrical conductor joining two points of a circuit, through which more or less of a current may be diverted.

1. 2.1Surgery An alternative path for the passage of the blood or other body fluid.
   〔外科〕吻合分流术
   as modifier shunt surgery

   Example sentencesExamples

   • This medical condition usually requires the surgical placement of a shunt system to divert cerebrospinal fluid to another part of the body.
   • Preliminary results appear promising: fewer babies who have had surgery require shunts to drain fluid from their brains.
   • Doctors put in a shunt to drain the fluid in his brain.
   • Haemodynamic effects are similar to those found with surgical shunts, with a lower procedural morbidity and mortality.
   • She had to have surgery for a liver shunt at 13 weeks.