To start aside or back; shrink back; flinch; of a horse, to shy.To turn back or away; turn aside.Specifically— In railroading, to turn from one line of rails to another; switch.In electricity, to use a shunt. See shunt, n., 3.To escape.To turn aside from a topic, purpose, line of thought, course of action, etc.; shift one's thoughts, conversation, proceedings, etc., into a different direction.To hold back; delay.To slip down, as earth.To shun; move from.To move or turn aside.To give a start to; shove.Hence To shove off; put out of one's way; free one's self of, as of anything disagreeable, by putting it upon another.To ward off injury, trouble, or danger from; remove from a position of trouble or danger.n. A drawing or turning back.n. A turning aside; specifically, in railroading, a turning off to a siding, or short line of rails, that the main line may be left clear.n. In electricity, a conductor, usually of relatively low resistance, joining two points in an electric circuit, and forming a desired circuit or path through which a part of the current will pass, the amount depending on the relative resistance of the shunt and that part of the principal circuit whose extremities it connects.