shutter

American  

[shuht-er] / ˈʃʌt ər /

noun

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.

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verb (used with object)

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)

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

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verb

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

2. to equip with a shutter or shutters

Related Words

See curtain.

Other Word Forms

• shutterless adjective
• unshuttered adjective

Etymology

Origin of shutter

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

Example Sentences

Macy’s plans to shutter 14 locations nationwide, including two in California, in the coming months.

From Los Angeles Times

On 28 December, traders selling imported electronic goods in Tehran were jolted by the sudden currency collapse; they shuttered their shops, went on strike, and urged others in the bazaar to follow suit.

From BBC

The spontaneous protests, driven by dissatisfaction at Iran's economic stagnation and galloping hyperinflation, began on Sunday in Tehran's largest mobile phone market where shopkeepers shuttered their businesses.

From Barron's

The deep cuts have forced the agency to reduce aid and shutter services -- at a time when global displacement is surging.

From Barron's

Companies are snapping up Vernon properties and upgrading them, adding advanced cooling systems to old office buildings and filling a shuttered slaughterhouse that once housed hogs, with advanced chips.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• curtain