shut-in
Americanadjective
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confined to one's home, a hospital, etc., as from illness.
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Psychiatry. disposed to desire solitude; withdrawn; asocial.
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(of an oil or gas well) temporarily sealed up.
noun
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a person confined by infirmity or disease to the house, a hospital, etc.
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Also called shut-in well. an oil or gas well that has been closed down.
noun
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a person confined indoors by illness
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( as modifier )
a shut-in patient
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psychiatry a condition in which the person is highly withdrawn and unable to express his own feelings See also schizoid
Etymology
Origin of shut-in
1840–50, adj., noun use of verb phrase shut in
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.
But the oil currently leaving the strait has up to now been sitting in tankers or storage facilities, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that "shut-in production takes time to restart".
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
This was predominantly due to a temporary shut-in caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Gen Z are often spoken about as the sober, shut-in generation.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
“But if wells are shut-in for a prolonged period, restarting production to full output could take weeks or even longer.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 10, 2026
I have that late-shift shut-in feeling that there’s no world beyond the doors, no problem greater than the mystery items remaining at the bottom of my cart.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
