I. ˈshə]t, dial ˈshe]; usu ]d.+V verb
( shut ; shut ; shutting ; shuts )
Etymology: Middle English shutten, shetten, shitten, from Old English scyttan; akin to Middle Dutch schutten to shut in, hinder, Old English scēotan to shoot — more at shoot
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to move (as a bolt) so as to fasten something (as a door, window)
2.
a. : to move (as a door, window, gate) into position to close an opening
shut the lid
leads us to shut the gates of mercy — M.R.Cohen
shut his door against his enemies
— often used with up
shut up his windows and closed the shop
or down
shut all the windows down
shuts the top down and locks it
b. : to prevent passage to or from by closing doors or openings : close
shut the cottage for the winter
— often used with up
shut up the house and set off for Europe
c. : to close (as an opening, a passage) by an obstacle or barrier
the enemy shut every pass through the mountains
— often used with up or in
another upland valley shut in by the easy slope of wooded hills — American Guide Series: Vermont
d. : to close (as the mind) to ideas and other influences from without
prejudice shuts the mind tighter than illiteracy — Bice Clemow
— often used with up
3. : to confine by or as if by enclosure or by closing a means of escape
shut him in the closet
was shut in prison
— usually used with up
shut up with him in the … chill smoky carriage — Anne D. Sedgwick
food and muskets and gunpowder to stand by their own army shut up in Boston — Dorothy C. Fisher
shut up in an acquired intellectual pride — V.S.Pritchett
4. : to fasten with a lock or bolt
buys a lock to shut his chest
5. : to close by bringing enclosing or covering parts together
shut the eyes
shut the mouth
shut the fist
shut a book
shut a locket
— often used with up
shut up the piano
6. : to cause to cease or suspend operation or business — often used with down
obliged the administration to shut down the university for the remainder of the spring term — R.G.Woolbert
7. : weld
intransitive verb
1. : to close itself or become closed
door shut with a slam
flowers shut at night
the seams worked … opening and shutting as the ship strained on the waves — C.S.Forester
— often used with down
the lid shuts down to keep the dust out
2. : to become visually continuous without a perceptible break
earth and the sky and the sky and the sea, seem shutting together as a book that is read — Joaquin Miller
3. : to close in
and soon evening will shut — A.E.Housman
— often used with in
observing the sunshine beginning to shut in — Samuel Richardson
4. : to cease or suspend an operation or business : close
cafés and bars which never seemed to shut while I was there — James Reach
— often used with up
all my kids … were reporting for the parade, so I thought we'd shut up early — J.G.Cozzens
or down
plants cut down the number of their employees and in many cases shut down entirely — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
force newspapers to accept censorship or shut down — Time
•
- shut one's eyes
- shut one's face
- shut one's mouth
- shut the door
- shut up shop
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English schett, from shutten, shetten, shitten, v. — more at shut I
1. : a device used in shutting or closing:
a. archaic : bolt , bar
b. chiefly dialect : shutter
c. : a door or plate used to close an opening
2. : the act or time of shutting
at shut of evening
3. : the line or place of union at a welded joint
4. : cold shut
III. adjective
Etymology: from past participle of shut (I)
1. : closed, fastened, or folded together
the shut door was blank against the summer sunlight — Elizabeth M. Roberts
listened with shut eyes
has her mind shut against all other civilizations — Nora Waln
a terrible, white shut face — S.V.Benét
2. : rid , clear , free — usually used with of
I thought I'd never get shut of him
would soon be shut of them all — Hervey Allen
IV. ˈshət, ˈshu̇t, ˈshet\
chiefly dialect
variant of shoot