shut
Americanverb (used with object)
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shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shut,
past participle, past
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shutting
present participle
-
to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
- Antonyms:
- open
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to close the doors of (often followed byup ).
to shut up a shop for the night.
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to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts.
Shut your book. Shut the window!
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to confine; enclose.
to shut a bird into a cage.
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to bar; exclude.
They shut him from their circle.
- Synonyms:
- prohibit
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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.
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to bolt; bar.
verb (used without object)
-
shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shut,
past participle, past
-
shutting
present participle
adjective
-
closed; fastened up.
a shut door.
-
Phonetics. checked.
noun
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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.
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Informal. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.
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Informal. (used to express disbelief or astonishment).
You dated her in high school? Shut up!
-
-
shut down
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to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
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to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine).
Did you remember to shut down your computer?
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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.
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Informal. to defeat or outdo.
The team was able to shut down the offense.
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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.
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shut out
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to keep from entering; exclude.
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to hide from view.
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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
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(tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
-
to ignore deliberately
-
-
to refuse to think about
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to render impossible
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adjective
noun
-
the act or time of shutting
-
the line along which pieces of metal are welded
-
slang to get rid of
Synonym Usage
See close.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shutsimple
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shutssimple
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have shutperfect
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has shutperfect
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am shuttingprogressive
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are shuttingprogressive
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is shuttingprogressive
-
have been shuttingperfect progressive
-
has been shuttingperfect progressive
Past
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shutsimple
-
had shutperfect
-
was shuttingprogressive
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were shuttingprogressive
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had been shuttingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
And if a party is inappropriate in a dorm room, they don’t shut down the entire dormitory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Dozens of curious onlookers gathered on Wednesday as the crew shut roads in bustling central Madrid, where AFP saw the 90-year-old oversee the set.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
It would be a lifeline for AM radio, which has been declining: More than 340 stations have shut down since 2015.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
He added that knowing island life really helped, especially as he said most shops on Anglesey shut at 19:00 and he would end up eating a Pot Noodle in the evenings.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Sela sifted through her beads while I picked green flakes of paint from the table in a pointless attempt to keep my mouth shut.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
In healthy immune cells, BCL6 attaches to DNA and temporarily shuts down genes that would normally stop cell growth or initiate cell death.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
When the revs and loads are light, the engine control shuts down the rear bank of cylinders to save fuel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
These predictions were made on the basis of how each squad shaped up on Thursday, 20 August, with 13 days to go until the transfer window shuts at 23:00 BST on Tuesday, 1 September.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Misuse of therapy speak, or the casual use of clinical psychology terms, is a pervasive problem, and one that therapists note actually shuts down communication, as opposed to improving it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
“We better get moving. I want to be in Saint Pete before it shuts down for the night.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Kevin Martinez has come up with a creative new way to avoid shutting his restaurant when water runs low in Cuba, a common source of frustration for the business owner.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
The El Niño has also affected transit, temporarily shutting down the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner along the San Clemente coastline last month during high tides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
"This suggests that this compound can selectively dampen escalated social conflict rather than shutting down behavior altogether."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Postnatal depression: 'I felt like my brain was shutting down'
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
As I pass into the hall, I feel like parts of me are shutting down.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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