shutter

American  

[shuht-er] / ˈʃʌt ər /

noun

• shutters
  plural

1. a solid or louvered movable cover for a window.

2. a movable cover, slide, etc., for an opening.

3. a person or thing that shuts.

4. Photography. a mechanical device for opening and closing the aperture of a camera lens to expose film or the like.

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verb (used with object)

• shutters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shuttered,
  past participle,  past
• shuttering
  present participle

1. to close or provide with shutters.

   She shuttered the windows.

2. to close (a store or business operations) for the day or permanently.

verb (used without object)

• shutters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shuttered,
  past participle,  past
• shuttering
  present participle

1. to close or close down.

   The factory has shuttered temporarily.

shutter British  

/ ˈʃʌtə /

noun

1. a hinged doorlike cover, often louvred and usually one of a pair, for closing off a window

2. to close business at the end of the day or permanently

3. photog an opaque shield in a camera that, when tripped, admits light to expose the film or plate for a predetermined period, usually a fraction of a second. It is either built into the lens system or lies in the focal plane of the lens ( focal-plane shutter )

4. photog a rotating device in a film projector that permits an image to be projected onto the screen only when the film is momentarily stationary

5. music one of the louvred covers over the mouths of organ pipes, operated by the swell pedal

6. a person or thing that shuts

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verb

1. to close with or as if with a shutter or shutters

2. to equip with a shutter or shutters

Synonym Usage

See curtain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shutterless
  adjective
• unshuttered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shutters
  plural

Participles

• shuttering
  present
• shuttered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shutter
  simple
• shutters
  simple
• have shuttered
  perfect
• has shuttered
  perfect
• am shuttering
  progressive
• are shuttering
  progressive
• is shuttering
  progressive
• have been shuttering
  perfect progressive
• has been shuttering
  perfect progressive

Past

• shuttered
  simple
• had shuttered
  perfect
• was shuttering
  progressive
• were shuttering
  progressive
• had been shuttering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shutter
  simple
• will have shuttered
  perfect
• will be shuttering
  progressive
• will have been shuttering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of shutter

First recorded in 1535–45; shut + -er ¹

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Explanation

A shutter is a solid window covering that you close to block out light and open to let the sun shine in. Long ago, most houses had outdoor shutters that acted as an old-fashioned security system, as well as protection from sunlight and stormy weather. Many modern homes have decorative shutters that don't actually open and close. There's another kind of shutter inside your camera, which also opens and closes to let light through to capture a photographic image. Shutter dates from the 1720s, when it was short for window-shutters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shutter shutters shuttered shuttering

As a photographer’s shutter clicks, Folger flutters a mascara wand over her lashes while preparing for opening night at the Elysian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

The jail, which opened in 1932 and has counted John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman, rapper Tupac Shakur, and Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious among its residents, was due to shutter by 2027.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

He has now updated the shutter to include the car smashing through the front of the shop.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Hours after a federal judge blocked the president’s attempt to restore his name, the Kennedy Center’s board voted on Sept. 15 to shutter the venue for renovations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Possible translation: That rickety shutter on the living room window that always smacked against the house whenever the wind blew was gone.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake

"We have had to make this upsetting and difficult decision to pull the shutters down for the very last time," they said.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The two of them live on-site in what looks like a family home straight out of a 1990s Disney film, a white colonial home with blue shutters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Century-old El Floridita is cloaked with metal shutters.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Reflective films, blinds, shutters, awnings and shaded roofs can all reduce heat gain.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

I watched her close the window and fasten the shutters, and draw the curtains in their place.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Reuters news agency reported luxury shops and boutiques were shuttered and surrounded by security guards at the Place Vendome in Paris.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Arby’s has also shuttered 225 U.S. locations since 2023, including 100 last year and 77 so far this year, according to Technomic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Smoke has severely worsened air quality in Manaus, a city of 2.3 million people, and authorities shuttered public schools on Friday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

In April, the Misfit Bar & Restaurant shuttered after 15 years after its operator chose not to renew its lease, citing conditions in downtown Santa Monica and changes in the building’s ownership.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Half the stores on the wide street seemed to be pawnshops and check-cashing agencies, and the other half were shuttered.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

The attacks are forcing schoolchildren out of classes into shelters, shuttering businesses, and disrupting public transport.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The group said that a consequence of the ban could be refineries shuttering in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

But in the past half century of mergers and consolidations, it was briefly a casualty, shuttering in 1985.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

But since that law was signed, the shuttering of two major refineries in the state has left lawmakers and agencies skittish about regulating the facilities before electric vehicles have displaced the demand for gas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Mr. Gideon leans back suddenly, his expression shuttering.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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