shutter

American  

[shuht-er] / ˈʃʌt ər /

noun

shutters plural

1. a solid or louvered movable cover for a window.

2. a movable cover, slide, etc., for an opening.

3. a person or thing that shuts.

4. Photography. a mechanical device for opening and closing the aperture of a camera lens to expose film or the like.

---

verb (used with object)

shutters, present (3rd person singular) shuttered, past participle, past shuttering present participle

1. to close or provide with shutters.

   She shuttered the windows.

2. to close (a store or business operations) for the day or permanently.

verb (used without object)

shutters, present (3rd person singular) shuttered, past participle, past shuttering present participle

1. to close or close down.

   The factory has shuttered temporarily.

shutter British  

/ ˈʃʌtə /

noun

1. a hinged doorlike cover, often louvred and usually one of a pair, for closing off a window

2. to close business at the end of the day or permanently

3. photog an opaque shield in a camera that, when tripped, admits light to expose the film or plate for a predetermined period, usually a fraction of a second. It is either built into the lens system or lies in the focal plane of the lens ( focal-plane shutter )

4. photog a rotating device in a film projector that permits an image to be projected onto the screen only when the film is momentarily stationary

5. music one of the louvred covers over the mouths of organ pipes, operated by the swell pedal

6. a person or thing that shuts

---

verb

1. to close with or as if with a shutter or shutters

2. to equip with a shutter or shutters

Synonym Usage

See curtain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shutterless
  adjective
• unshuttered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shutters
  plural

Participles

• shuttering
  present
• shuttered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shutter
  simple
• shutters
  simple
• have shuttered
  perfect
• has shuttered
  perfect
• am shuttering
  progressive
• are shuttering
  progressive
• is shuttering
  progressive
• have been shuttering
  perfect progressive
• has been shuttering
  perfect progressive

Past

• shuttered
  simple
• had shuttered
  perfect
• was shuttering
  progressive
• were shuttering
  progressive
• had been shuttering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shutter
  simple
• will have shuttered
  perfect
• will be shuttering
  progressive
• will have been shuttering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shutter

First recorded in 1535–45; shut + -er ¹

Explanation

A shutter is a solid window covering that you close to block out light and open to let the sun shine in. Long ago, most houses had outdoor shutters that acted as an old-fashioned security system, as well as protection from sunlight and stormy weather. Many modern homes have decorative shutters that don't actually open and close. There's another kind of shutter inside your camera, which also opens and closes to let light through to capture a photographic image. Shutter dates from the 1720s, when it was short for window-shutters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shutter shutters shuttered shuttering

Orchid, 43, said the point of starting the landfill litigation was to shutter the dump and squeeze out enough money from the owners for her sick neighbors to move out of town.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

Starbucks stores across South Korea will shutter for half a day next week for staff to attend a history lesson following a promotional campaign gone awry, the coffee giant said Monday.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

There was just the constant shutter of photographs being taken.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

Limited Too became Justice and then Justice’s parent company filed for Chapter 11 in 2020, causing them to shutter over 800 stores by early 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

The shutter advances softly, repeatedly; the room is bathed in rich afternoon light.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

"If the shutters outside were painted and the building was clean it would be a lot more appealing for you walking down the street to go 'I wonder what's in there'."

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

The kitchen and bedroom of the Kowalskis’ claustrophobic two-room apartment were set against a rear wall of louvered shutters with a second-story wrought-iron balcony reached by a spiral staircase; a streetlamp marked the outdoor scenes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Cooling measures in healthcare facilities, care homes and schools are called for - from air conditioning to using shutters and blinds and tree-planting to provide shade.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

Most Palestinian shopkeepers in the Old City had pulled down their metal shutters and deserted the stone alleyways.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

While the other houses around it have bright shutters and colorful front doors, this one is all black.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Many schools and businesses were shuttered on Friday across northern and eastern Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, and hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

In 2024, Xbox culled more than 2,000 staff and shuttered four studios bought prior to its bumper acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision-Blizzard.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

While at Berkshire, Combs helped launch Haven, a shuttered initiative started by Dimon, Bezos and Buffett as an effort to lower healthcare costs by collectively bargaining with insurers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

The shuttered Hello Kitty experiment animated yet another challenge in scaling raves across Dave & Buster’s many outposts: the sense that these parties are once-in-a-lifetime events that can’t be missed.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

She said it just as we came around the last stand of trees and stepped into the empty parking lot of the shuttered up farm stand, closed for the season.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely

“There is no evidence that the Board took account of its full range of statutory obligations in determining that a wholesale shuttering of the Kennedy Center was appropriate,” Cooper wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

The shuttering comes as airlines grapple with the impact of the Iran crisis on fuel prices and consumer sentiment.

From MarketWatch ● May 2, 2026

This reorganization will include shuttering 56 of 77 research stations studying climatological and ecological changes across the country.

From Salon ● May 2, 2026

With wine consumption down, major California wine companies are laying off workers and shuttering production facilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026

The Sun dipped and vanished, and as if at the shuttering of a lamp, black night fell.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• curtain