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 down
  • For years, she has stepped as close to those as she can without getting the place shut down.
  • Those animals are a priority so they don't get shut down.
  • The quake forced that project to shut down, and its sponsor had to make millions of dollars in payments for damaged buildings.
  • And the government has shut down many of the smallest and filthiest coal-fired power plants.
  • But many viruses have evolved ways to shut down these proteins.
  • But mechanical issues shut down the show while the astronauts were en route to the launch pad.
  • Those reactors had been shut down for maintenance since last winter.
  • The college is set to shut down, displacing hundreds of students and faculty members.
  • Strong or weak program has little to do with whether a program should shut down.
  • But the company failed to find enough takers, and it all but shut down after a brief run.
British Dictionary definitions for shut down

shutdown

/ˈʃʌtˌdaʊn/
noun
1.
  1. the closing of a factory, shop, etc
  2. (as modifier): shutdown costs
verb (adverb)
2.
to cease or cause to cease operation
3.
(transitive) to close by lowering
4.
(transitive) (of fog) to descend and envelop
5.
(intransitive; foll by on or upon) (informal) to put a stop to; clamp down on
6.
(transitive) to reduce the power level of (a nuclear reactor) to the lowest possible value

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 down

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.

Slang definitions & phrases for shut down

shut down

verb phrase

To defeat; outdo; beat: Gore shut down Perot in the debate/ We're gonna shut 'em down (1950s+)


Idioms and Phrases with shut down

shut down

.
See close down , def. 1.
.
Stop or switch off machinery, as in They shut down all the machines for one week a year. [ Late 1800s ]

shut

also see: