INDEX:
1. to close a door, window, gate etc
2. to close a container
3. to close your eyes/mouth
4. to become shut
5. to shut something so that it cannot be opened
6. to close an entrance or opening
7. when a door, entrance, lid etc has been shut
8. when a shop or office is closed
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ OPEN
see also
↑ FASTEN/UNFASTEN
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1. to close a door, window, gate etc
▷ shut /ʃʌt/ [transitive verb]
to move a door, window, gate etc so that it is no longer open :
▪ Come in and shut the door behind you.
▪ Someone had shut the gate to stop the sheep getting out onto the road.
▪ She heard Charlotte downstairs shutting the windows, and locking up for the night.
▷ close /kləʊz/ [transitive verb]
to shut something, especially in a careful way :
▪ Do you mind if I close the window?
▪ She took the necklace out of the box and closed the lid.
▷ slam /slæm/ [transitive verb]
to shut a door quickly so that it makes a loud noise, especially because you are angry :
▪ Jane marched out of the room slamming the door behind her.
▪ He slammed the door so hard that the glass cracked.
▷ push/kick/slide etc something shut /ˌpʊʃ something ˈʃʌt/ [verb phrase]
to push, kick, slide etc something so that it shuts :
▪ The woman pushed the door shut with her foot.
▪ It started raining, so I quickly pulled the window shut.
▪ ‘Sorry, we’re closed,’ said the official, sliding the wooden panel shut.
▷ pull/push the door to /ˌpʊl, ˌpʊʃ ðə dɔːʳ ˈtuː/ [verb phrase]
to move a door so that it is almost shut :
▪ ‘Tell me what’s wrong,’ I said, pulling the door to.
▪ She pushed the door to against the blinding sunlight.
▷ draw the curtains/close the curtains /ˌdrɔː ðə ˈkɜːʳtnz, ˌkləʊz ðə ˈkɜːʳtnz/ [verb phrase]
to close curtains by pulling them across a window :
▪ Let’s draw the curtains. We don’t want people looking in.
▪ The curtains were closed and the room was in darkness.
2. to close a container
▷ shut/close /ʃʌt, kləʊz/ [transitive verb]
to close a container, such as a box, case, or bottle :
▪ As the teacher appeared, Matt shut the box quickly.
▪ Russell shut his briefcase with a snap, and the meeting was over.
▪ Put lids on all the jars and close them tightly.
▷ put the lid on /ˌpʊt ðə ˈlɪd ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to shut a container such as a bottle or box by putting a lid onto it :
▪ Put the lid on the cookie jar when you’ve finished with it!
▪ If you leave cooked food in a pan, you should always put the lid on.
▷ screw on /ˌskruː ˈɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to shut a container such as a bottle by putting the lid on and turning it round and round until it cannot be turned any more :
screw on something
▪ I screwed on the top of the bottle as tightly as I could.
screw something back on
▪ The fuel tank cap hadn’t been screwed back on properly, and it came off when I drove away.
screw something on
▪ She screwed the lid of the jar on again.
3. to close your eyes/mouth
▷ close/shut /kləʊz, ʃʌt/ [transitive verb]
to close your eyes or mouth :
▪ I lay down and closed my eyes.
▪ He shut his eyes and listened to the music.
▪ Lara opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
4. to become shut
▷ close/shut /kləʊz, ʃʌt/ [intransitive verb]
to become shut :
▪ He walked out and the door shut behind him.
▪ There was a bang as the gates shut.
▪ Her eyes closed, and she fell into a deep sleep.
▷ slam also slam shut /slæm, ˌslæm ˈʃʌt/ [intransitive verb]
if a door slams or slams shut, it shuts quickly and makes a loud noise :
▪ Outside in the street, car doors slammed and people were shouting.
▪ She heard a door slam shut and the sound of footsteps on the path.
▷ slide/blow/swing etc shut /ˌslaɪd ˈʃʌt/ [verb phrase]
if a door, window, gate etc slides, blows, swings etc shut, it shuts by sliding, being blown, swinging etc :
▪ The window suddenly blew shut, with a loud bang.
▪ The elevator doors silently slid shut.
5. to shut something so that it cannot be opened
▷ lock /lɒkǁlɑːk/ [transitive verb]
to shut something such as a door, window, or box by turning a key in a lock :
▪ As she left the house she locked the door.
▪ Don’t forget to lock the car.
▪ He locked the safe and put the key in his pocket.
▷ lock up /ˌlɒk ˈʌpǁˌlɑːk-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to lock something such as a vehicle or a building :
lock up something
▪ I had locked up my office for the night and gone home.
▪ He always keeps his desk locked up.
lock something up
▪ You should take basic precautions like locking your car up.
▷ bolt /bəʊlt/ [transitive verb]
to shut a door by sliding a small metal bar across both the door and its frame so that it cannot be opened from the other side :
▪ My husband always bolts all the doors before going to bed.
▷ bar /bɑːʳ/ [transitive verb]
to shut a door or window and put a bar, a piece of wood, etc across it so that people cannot get in or out :
▪ The owner of the house had barred the back door.
▪ Some of the survivors said that one of the fire exits had been barred.
▷ lock somebody out /ˌlɒk somebody ˈaʊtǁˌlɑːk-/ [verb phrase]
to prevent someone from entering a room or building by locking the door :
▪ If she wasn’t home by midnight her father would lock her out.
lock yourself out
not be able to get back into a place you have locked
▪ We always leave a key with a neighbour in case we lock ourselves out.
6. to close an entrance or opening
▷ block up /ˌblɒk ˈʌpǁˌblɑːk-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to put something into a hole or entrance so that it is permanently closed :
block something up
▪ Martha tried to block the mouse holes up, but new ones kept appearing.
block up something
▪ Some of the windows in the church had been blocked up.
▪ He blocked up the entrance to the tunnel with stones.
▷ plug/plug up /plʌg, ˌplʌg ˈʌp/ [transitive verb/transitive phrasal verb]
to put something into a hole in order to stop a liquid from getting through :
▪ We tried to plug the hole in the bottom of the boat with a plastic bag.
▪ They didn’t have enough material to plug up the gaps around the pipe.
▷ seal /siːl/ [transitive verb]
to close an entrance or container with something that completely prevents air or water from getting in or out :
▪ If you seal the jars well, the jam will keep for months or even years.
▪ In this experiment, the chamber must be completely sealed.
7. when a door, entrance, lid etc has been shut
▷ shut/closed /ʃʌt, kləʊzd/ [adjective not before noun]
not open :
▪ Make sure all the windows are shut before you go out.
▪ The gates were closed, and there was no other way in.
tight shut
▪ Keep your eyes tight shut.
▷ locked /lɒktǁlɑːkt/ [adjective]
something that is locked has been shut using a key :
▪ Jamie tried the door. ‘It’s locked,’ he said.
▪ All office workers should keep their personal belongings in a locked drawer.
▪ I need my coat out of your car -- is it locked?
▷ bolted /ˈbəʊltɪd, ˈbəʊltəd/ [adjective]
a door that is bolted has been shut by using a metal bar that slides across and prevents the door from being opened from the other side :
▪ The door’s bolted, we’ll have to break it down.
▪ Burglars can always find a way in, in spite of bolted doors and windows.
▷ sealed /siːld/ [adjective]
shut with something that prevents air or water from getting in or out :
▪ Plants cannot survive in a sealed jar.
▪ Sealed nuclear waste containers are then enclosed in concrete.
8. when a shop or office is closed
▷ close also shut /kləʊz, ʃʌt/ [intransitive verb] British
if a shop or office shuts or closes, it stops being open for business :
▪ ‘What time does the bank shut?’ ‘Four o'clock.’
▪ Most of the stores close at 6:30.
▷ be closed also be shut /biː ˈkləʊzd, biː ˈʃʌt/ [verb phrase]
if a shop or office is shut or is closed, it is not open for business :
▪ The ticket office was closed.
▪ It was nine o'clock and all the stores were shut.