transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English shetten out, from shutten, shetten, shitten to shut + out, adverb
1. : to keep or force out
branches meet … shutting out the sunlight — American Guide Series: Michigan
his nostrils clenched as if to shut out the evil and moldy smell of the room — Marcia Davenport
not to know … was to be shut out of his life completely — Morley Callaghan
— sometimes used with from
began to talk French, shutting out the mulatto woman from their conversation — Louis Bromfield
shutting out from his thoughts any thought that disturbs him — Morris Fishbein
2. : to hide from sight
clouds shut the sun out
as we rounded the point the peninsula shut out the bay
3.
a. : to prevent (an opponent) from scoring in a game or contest
shut them out with two hits
shut them out 1-0
a fisherman … was shut out the first two days and boated only two on the lush last day — Newsweek
b. : to forestall the bidding of (one's opponents in bridge) by making a high or preemptive bid
shut the opposition out with a bid of five hearts
Synonyms: see exclude