shut

[shuht] /ʃʌt/
verb (used with object), shut, shutting.
1.
to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
2.
to close the doors of (often followed by up):
to shut up a shop for the night.
3.
to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts:
Shut your book. Shut the window!
4.
to confine; enclose:
to shut a bird into a cage.
5.
to bar; exclude:
They shut him from their circle.
6.
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.
7.
to bolt; bar.
verb (used without object), shut, shutting.
8.
to become shut or closed; close.
adjective
9.
closed; fastened up:
a shut door.
10.
Phonetics, checked.
noun
11.
the act or time of shutting or closing.
12.
the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.
Verb phrases
13.
shut down,
  1. to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
  2. to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine):
    Did you remember to shut down your computer?
  3. Also, shut down on/upon. Informal. to hinder; check; stop.
  4. to settle over so as to envelop or darken:
    The fog shut down rapidly.
14.
shut in,
  1. to enclose.
  2. to confine, as from illness:
    She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
15.
shut of, Informal. free of; rid of:
He wished he were shut of all his debts.
16.
shut off,
  1. to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
  2. to isolate; separate:
    an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
17.
shut out,
  1. to keep from entering; exclude.
  2. to hide from view.
  3. to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
18.
shut up,
  1. to imprison; confine.
  2. to close entirely.
  3. to stop talking; become silent:
    I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
  4. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English schutten, Old English scyttan to bolt (a door); akin to shoot
Related forms
half-shut, adjective
reshut, verb, reshut, reshutting.
unshut, adjective
Synonyms
1. See close. 4. jail, imprison, cage. 5. prohibit.
Antonyms
1. open.
Examples from the web for shut
  • For years, she has stepped as close to those as she can without getting the place shut down.
  • Those pumps will now have to shut down for much of the year, reducing water output by up to a third.
  • Nor, as attorneys would soon discover, was there even a single outfit to shut down.
  • Meanwhile, the college shut down the student government, which was steeped in related controversies.
  • But the city's laws requiring them to shut down their engines in school zones are poorly enforced.
  • He was absolutely not shut away in some ivory tower somewhere.
  • They can shunt loads, or shut different parts of the grid.
  • Some private businesses have laid off workers and shut production.
  • They are large-bodied and display a mouthful of sharp teeth that protrude in all directions, even when the mouth is shut.
  • In response, a power plant shut down, destabilizing the system's equilibrium.
British Dictionary definitions for shut

shut

/ʃʌt/
verb shuts, shutting, shut
1.
to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; close: to shut a door
2.
to close (something) by bringing together the parts: to shut a book
3.
(transitive) often foll by up. to close or lock the doors of: to shut up a house
4.
(transitive; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or exclude: to shut a child in a room
5.
(transitive) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
6.
shut one's eyes to, to ignore deliberately
7.
shut the door on
  1. to refuse to think about
  2. to render impossible
adjective
8.
closed or fastened
noun
9.
the act or time of shutting
10.
the line along which pieces of metal are welded
11.
(slang) get shut of, get shot of, to get rid of
See also shutdown, shut-off, shutout, shut up
Word Origin
Old English scyttan; related to Old Frisian sketta to shut in, Middle Dutch schutten to obstruct
Word Origin and History for shut
v.

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

also see: