shut

[ shuht ]

verb (used with object)

, shut, shut·ting.

1. to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.

   Antonyms: open

2. to close the doors of (often followed by up ):

   to shut up a shop for the night.

3. to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts:

   Shut your book. Shut the window!

4. to confine; enclose:

   to shut a bird into a cage.

   Synonyms: cage, imprison, jail

5. to bar; exclude:

   They shut him from their circle.

   Synonyms: prohibit

6. to cause (a factory, school, etc.) to end or suspend operations, services, or business activity:

   He shut his store, sold his house, and moved away.

   We're shutting the office for two weeks in June.

7. to bolt; bar.

verb (used without object)

, shut, shut·ting.

1. to become shut or closed; close.

adjective

1. closed; fastened up:

   a shut door.

2. Phonetics. checked ( def 4 ).

noun

1. the act or time of shutting or closing.
2. the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.

verb phrase

1. 1. to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
   2. to isolate; separate:

      an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.

2. 1. to enclose.
   2. to confine, as from illness:

      She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.

3. 1. to imprison; confine.
   2. to close entirely.
   3. Informal. to stop talking; become silent (often used as a rude command):

      Just sit down and shut up! I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.

   4. Informal. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.
   5. Informal. (used to express disbelief or astonishment):

      You dated her in high school? Shut up!

4. 1. to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
   2. to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine):

      Did you remember to shut down your computer?

   3. Also shut down onupon. Informal. to hinder; check; stop from doing or saying something:

      He appeared on the talk show to shut down his critics.

   4. Informal. to defeat or outdo:

      The team was able to shut down the offense.

   5. to settle over a place so as to envelop or darken it:

      The fog shut down rapidly.

5. Informal. free of; rid of:

   He wished he were shut of all his debts.

6. 1. to keep from entering; exclude.
   2. to hide from view.
   3. to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.

shut

/ ʃʌt /

verb

1. to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; close

   to shut a door

2. to close (something) by bringing together the parts

   to shut a book

3. troften foll byup to close or lock the doors of

   to shut up a house

4. tr; foll by in, out, etc to confine, enclose, or exclude

   to shut a child in a room

5. tr to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
6. shut one's eyes to
   to ignore deliberately
7. shut the door on
   1. to refuse to think about
   2. to render impossible

adjective

1. closed or fastened

noun

1. the act or time of shutting
2. the line along which pieces of metal are welded
3. get shut of or get shot of slang.
   to get rid of

Other Words From

• half-shut adjective
• re·shut verb reshut reshutting
• un·shut adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shut¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English s(c)hutten, s(c)hetten, s(c)hitten Old English scyttan “to bolt (a door)”; akin to shoot ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of shut¹

Old English scyttan; related to Old Frisian sketta to shut in, Middle Dutch schutten to obstruct

Idioms and Phrases

• close (shut) down
• close (shut) one's eyes to
• close (shut) the door on
• keep one's mouth shut
• open and shut case
• put up or shut up

Synonym Study

See close.

Example Sentences

The pharmacies' body, which isn’t a trade union, says 700 pharmacies have shut in England in the last two years alone - the equivalent of seven a week - because of workloads and budget cuts.

From BBC

NPA chairman Nick Kaye said the ballot result "overwhelmingly shows the sheer anger and frustration of pharmacy owners at a decade of cuts that is forcing dedicated health professionals to shut their doors for good".

From BBC

Mr Bailey told the jury the CPR had never succeeded because "by the time Mr Sidpara had called 999, she was already cold and stiff and her jaw locked shut".

From BBC

Several years ago, she opened a campaign account to raise money to run for governor, but public filings show she shut it in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2020, ash clouds from Mount Merapi shut an airport in the city of Solo.

From BBC

Related Words

• bar
• lock
• push
• seal