shut

[ shuht ]

/ ʃʌt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shut ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), shut, shut·ting.

to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.

to close the doors of (often followed by up): 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.

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), shut, shut·ting.

to become shut or closed; close.

adjective

closed; fastened up: a shut door.

Phonetics. checked(def 2).

noun

the act or time of shutting or closing.

the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.

Verb Phrases

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?
Also shut down on/upon.Informal.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 so as to envelop or darken: The fog shut down rapidly.

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 of, Informal. free of; rid of: He wished he were shut of all his debts.

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 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.

shut up,

to imprison; confine.
to close entirely.
to stop talking; become silent: I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
to stop (someone) from talking; silence.

Nearby words

Origin of shut

before 1000; Middle English s(c)hutten, s(c)hetten, s(c)hitten Old English scyttan “to bolt (a door)”; akin to shoot¹

SYNONYMS FOR shut

4. jail, imprison, cage. 5. prohibit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shut ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR shut

1. open.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR shut ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshalf-shut, adjectivere·shut, verb, re·shut, re·shut·ting.un·shut, adjective

Synonym study

1. See close.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shut

And so it was that the federal government did not shut down just when we all had visions of sugar plumbs dancing in our heads.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He immediately tried to shut the window before saying anything else.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Over the years, several MPs have alleged cover-ups or suggested that investigations were shut down by senior security officials.
Victim: I Watched British MPs Rape and Murder Young Boys|Nico Hines|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But of course, the union was shut out of the process, according to spokesman George Atallah.
Roger Goodell and the NFL’s Path to Power|Robert Silverman|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“Sit down and shut up” was how all important family discussions began and ended where the rest of America grew up.
Why 2016’s Hopefuls Are Hopeless|P. J. O’Rourke|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Frantically, she looked around for something to hold it shut.
The Saracen: The Holy War|Robert Shea
We stop the night at Henzada, and dine on deck, shut off from the night by a glass partition.
From Edinburgh to India & Burmah|William G. Burn Murdoch
There had been a meeting of the Committee, and the club was shut up.
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope
I cannot tell you anything of the time I spent there, shut up in the gloomy castle; it was horrible beyond all words.
A Monk of Cruta|E. Phillips Oppenheim
She was shut up, and her manner appeared hard and ungracious while her heart was dissolving in emotions.
Household Education|Harriet Martineau

British Dictionary definitions for shut

shut

/ (ʃʌt) /

verb shuts, shutting or shut

to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; closeto shut a door

to close (something) by bringing together the partsto shut a book

(tr often foll by up) to close or lock the doors ofto shut up a house

(tr; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or excludeto shut a child in a room

(tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating

shut one's eyes to to ignore deliberately

shut the door on

to refuse to think about
to render impossible

adjective

closed or fastened

noun

the act or time of shutting

the line along which pieces of metal are welded

get shut of or get shot of slang to get rid of

See also shutdown, shut-off, shutout, shut up

Word Origin for shut

Old English scyttan; related to Old Frisian sketta to shut in, Middle Dutch schutten to obstruct

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shut

shut

Old English scyttan "to put (a bolt) in place so as to fasten a door or gate, bolt, shut to; discharge, pay off," from West Germanic *skutjan (cf. Old Frisian schetta, Middle Dutch schutten "to shut, shut up, obstruct"), from PIE *skeud- "to shoot, chase, throw" (see shoot (v.)). Related: Shutting.

Meaning "to close by folding or bringing together" is from mid-14c. Meaning "prevent ingress and egress" is from mid-14c. Sense of "to set (someone) free (from)" (c.1500) is obsolete except in dialectal phrases such as to get shut of. To shut (one's) mouth "desist from speaking" is recorded from mid-14c.

Idioms and Phrases with shut

shut

In addition to the idioms beginning with shut

shut down
shut off
shut one's eyes to
shut out
shut the door
shut up

also see:

close (shut) down
close (shut) one's eyes to
close (shut) the door on
keep one's mouth shut
open and shut case
put up or shut up

shut

verb (used with object), shut, shut·ting.

verb (used without object), shut, shut·ting.

adjective

noun

Verb Phrases

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of shut

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for shut

shut

verb shuts, shutting or shut

adjective

noun

Word Origin for shut

shut

shut