shut up

British  

verb

1. (tr) to prevent all access to

2. (tr) to confine or imprison

3. informal to cease to talk or make a noise or cause to cease to talk or make a noise: often used in commands

4. (intr) (of horses in a race) to cease through exhaustion from maintaining a racing pace

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shut up Idioms  

1. Imprison, confine, enclose, as in The dog was shut up in the cellar for the night , or She shut up her memories and never talked about the past . [c. 1400]

2. Close completely, as in The windows were shut up tightly so no rain came in . [Early 1500s] This usage also occurs in shut up shop , meaning “close the premises of a business,” as in It's late, let's shut up shop now . [Late 1500s] Also see close up , def. 3.

3. Cause someone to stop speaking, silence someone, as in It's time someone shut him up . [Early 1800s]

4. Stop speaking, as in I've told you what I think and now I'll shut up . This usage also occurs as a rather rude imperative, as in Shut up! You've said enough . [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

The Grinch will get in your face and yell at you to shut up.

From Los Angeles Times

"Many of them are angry. They want to tell the church to shut up," and to confine itself to issues such as abortion, Mr Gibson says.

From BBC

Warren: The arpeggiation in “Ordinary” — I’ll shut up about this song eventually — everyone thinks it’s a harp, but it’s a rubber bridge guitar.

From Los Angeles Times

I take some deep breaths—Dr. Cain would be so proud I remember her coping tricks—to try to get the static-y white noise in my brain to shut up.

From Literature

But she decided not to shut up - or delete the group.

From BBC