shut up
verb (adverb)
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VOCAB BUILDER
What is a basic definition of shut up?
Shut up is a verb phrase that means to stop talking, to imprison, or to close something tightly.
Informally, to shut up is to not say anything else. In this sense, shut up is commonly considered a rude way to request someone else stop talking. Depending on how it is used, shut up can be seen as an incredibly impolite, condescending, or hostile phrase. At the same time, shut up can be used jokingly or playfully among friends.
- Used in a sentence: My mom gave me an angry look when I said the dinner was awful and I knew I should shut up.
In this same sense, shut up can also mean to cause another person to stop talking or making noise.
- Used in a sentence: Lauren’s beautiful singing shut her critics up quickly.
Shut up is also used to mean to imprison or confine something or someone. When something is shut up, it is locked up so securely that there is little chance of escape or discovery.
- Real-life examples: You can shut a bird up in a cage. Prisoners are shut up in prison cells. Old clothes can be shut up in a trunk, out of the way.
- Used in a sentence: The wicked queen shut up the princess in a dungeon so the handsome knight would never find her.
Shut up can also mean to close something tightly and securely.
- Used in a sentence: We shut up all of the windows before the hailstorm started.
Where does shut up come from?
The first records of shut up come from the 1400s. At first, the sense of “to imprison” was the most common. The senses of “to stop speaking” and “to cause to stop speaking” emerged in the early 1800s. Today, these latter senses are by far the most common.
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How is shut up used in real life?
Shut up is a common phrase that most often means to stop talking or to cause someone else to stop talking. Shut up is frequently used as a rude command to demand that someone stop speaking.
I’ve heard 2021, 2023, 2025, and now 2028 for the Apple Car. Can we just shut up about it already? I really couldn’t care less.
— Noah Evans (@ThisIsNoahEvans) December 27, 2020
if people bug you with questions like "why are you single?" you can usually say something like "i'm married to the sea" and it will shut them up for awhile
— Jared 🌿 (@jwenerd) May 11, 2020
Shut up and dance with me pic.twitter.com/ZsbfnJVFS6
— Mama Monkey (@MamaMonkey3) January 15, 2021
Try using shut up!
True or False?
Telling someone to shut up is often considered rude.
Example sentences from the Web for shut up
Idioms and Phrases with shut up
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]
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.
Cause someone to stop speaking, silence someone, as in It's time someone shut him up. [Early 1800s]
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]