shut
Americanverb (used with object)
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shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
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shut,
past participle, past
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shutting
present participle
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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)
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shuts,
present (3rd person singular)
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shut,
past participle, past
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shutting
present participle
adjective
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closed; fastened up.
a shut door.
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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
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shut off
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to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
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to isolate; separate.
an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
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shut in
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to enclose.
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to confine, as from illness.
She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
-
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shut up
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to imprison; confine.
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to close entirely.
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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!
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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.
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verb
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to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; close
to shut a door
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to close (something) by bringing together the parts
to shut a book
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to close or lock the doors of
to shut up a house
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(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
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to ignore deliberately
-
-
to refuse to think about
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to render impossible
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adjective
noun
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the act or time of shutting
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the line along which pieces of metal are welded
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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
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have been shuttingperfect progressive
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has been shuttingperfect progressive
Past
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shutsimple
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had shutperfect
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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:
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced his agency has shut down nearly 300 driving schools that he said were failing to train drivers properly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
At one point, the video feed in the overflow room was shut down after someone violated the court rules and snapped pictures of a cooperating witness testifying that later circulated on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Khosrowshahi's message focused on how the changes were aimed at operational efficiences, but the company has also shut down services entirely in some countries.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Last month, Grossi visited the site in Deir Ezzor in the east, which has been shut for 18 years.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
He lay curled on his side with his eyes shut, shaking with cold.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The justices could decide it's too early to hear the case, rule narrowly without touching the Vermont and New York laws -- or make a broad ruling that shuts the doors on them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 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
His ability to also offer cover at left-back will be invaluable, but Newcastle clearly need further reinforcements before the window shuts on 1 September.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 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
When my mom is angry with me, she shuts off like a broken oven light.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
On Wednesday, Uber said it was shutting down its business in Nigeria and Uganda, after leaving Tanzania earlier this year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
This is roughly equivalent to stopping an overflowing bathtub by shutting off the water to the entire apartment building because you cannot get to the faucet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Bernard Matthews Foods has confirmed it will be shutting its processing facility on Shaftesbury Street South by the end of 2026.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Median didn’t respond until Monday, first saying it was shutting down its polling operation, then admitting to The Times that the poll was faked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Boaz dragged out the standing mirror as silently as he could, shutting the door behind him.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
