shut
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
- Antonyms:
- open
-
to close the doors of (often followed byup ).
to shut up a shop for the night.
-
to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts.
Shut your book. Shut the window!
-
to confine; enclose.
to shut a bird into a cage.
-
to bar; exclude.
They shut him from their circle.
- Synonyms:
- prohibit
-
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.
-
to bolt; bar.
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
closed; fastened up.
a shut door.
-
Phonetics. checked.
noun
-
the act or time of shutting or closing.
-
the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.
verb phrase
-
shut off
-
to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
-
to isolate; separate.
an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
-
-
shut in
-
to enclose.
-
to confine, as from illness.
She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
-
-
shut up
-
to imprison; confine.
-
to close entirely.
-
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.
-
Informal. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.
-
Informal. (used to express disbelief or astonishment).
You dated her in high school? Shut up!
-
-
shut down
-
to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
-
to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine).
Did you remember to shut down your computer?
-
Informal. Also shut down onupon to hinder; check; stop from doing or saying something.
He appeared on the talk show to shut down his critics.
-
Informal. to defeat or outdo.
The team was able to shut down the offense.
-
to settle over a place so as to envelop or darken it.
The fog shut down rapidly.
-
-
shut of free of; rid of.
He wished he were shut of all his debts.
-
shut out
-
to keep from entering; exclude.
-
to hide from view.
-
to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
-
verb
-
to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; close
to shut a door
-
to close (something) by bringing together the parts
to shut a book
-
to close or lock the doors of
to shut up a house
-
(tr; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or exclude
to shut a child in a room
-
(tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
-
to ignore deliberately
-
-
to refuse to think about
-
to render impossible
-
adjective
noun
-
the act or time of shutting
-
the line along which pieces of metal are welded
-
slang to get rid of
Related Words
See close.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shut
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the March 27, 2026, print edition as 'Can the Federal Reserve Please Shut Up?'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Shut out by motion picture academy voters, the musical sequel could only manage two nominations — costume design and hair and makeup — with BAFTA.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026
The Scottish star's film credits include Eyes Wide Shut, GoldenEye and Emma, as well as two absolute masterpieces of 1990s cinema - Spice World: The Movie and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
From BBC • May 10, 2025
Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and Puccini’s “La Rondine” were still running, as was “Turandot.”
From New York Times • May 21, 2024
“Oh,” said Eloise, “what’s the use of talking? Let’s drop it. I’ll just depress you. Shut me up.”
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
