What does "shut" mean?
The act or time of shutting; close.
Shut
/ʃʌt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act or time of shutting; close.
- Grammar: shut is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: close, exclude, alley, ban.
- Useful contrasts: ajar, gaping, open.
- Usage evidence: The burglar shut the child in the closet.
How to use "shut"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shut" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shut" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shut" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shut" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shut" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "close" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shut", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act or time of shutting; close.
"the shut of a door"
- 2 A narrow alley or passage acting as a short cut through the buildings between two streets. British, Shropshire, dialectal
- 3 A door or cover; a shutter.
- 4 The line or place where two pieces of metal are welded together.
Verb
- 1 To close, in various senses.; To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through. intransitive, transitive
"Please shut the door."
- 2 move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut wordnet
- 3 To close, in various senses.; To make or become unreceptive. intransitive, transitive
"He has shut his mind to new ideas."
- 4 become closed wordnet
- 5 To close, in various senses.; To close (a business or venue) temporarily or permanently. British, intransitive, transitive
"They generally shut the museum each day at 6 pm."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 prevent from entering; shut out wordnet
- 7 To close, in various senses.; To put out of use or operation. intransitive, transitive
"We are shutting the phone lines at 9 pm."
- 8 To close, in various senses.; To cease operation or cease to be available. intransitive, transitive
"Phone lines will shut in ten minutes."
- 9 To close, in various senses.; To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc. ergative, intransitive, transitive
"Shut the file when you have finished reading data."
- 10 To catch or snag in the act of shutting something. transitive
"He's just gone and shut his finger in the door!"
- 11 To confine in an enclosed area; to enclose. transitive
"I shut the cat in the kitchen before going out."
- 12 To isolate, to close off from the world. transitive
"Now, sometimes in my sorrow shut, Or breaking into song by fits; Alone, alone, to where he sits, The Shadow cloak’d from head to foot Who keeps the keys of all the creeds, I wander, often falling lame, […]"
- 13 To preclude, exclude. transitive
"shut from every shore"
- 14 simple past and past participle of shut form-of, participle, past
Adjective
- 1 Closed, not open, in any of various senses.; Physically sealed, obstructed, folded together, etc. not-comparable
"A shut door barred our way into the house."
- 2 Closed, not open, in any of various senses.; Not available for use or operation. not-comparable
"Phone lines are now shut."
- 3 Closed, not open, in any of various senses.; Not operating or conducting trade; not allowing entrance to visitors or the public. not-comparable
"Banks are shut on bank holidays."
- 4 Closed, not open, in any of various senses.; Not receptive. not-comparable
"He mind is shut to new ideas."
- 5 Closed, not open, in any of various senses.; Of a club, bat or other hitting implement, angled downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight. especially, not-comparable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Synonym of close. not-comparable
- 7 Synonym of close. archaic, not-comparable
"Whenever a syllable is formed with a long, that is an open vowel, they account the syllable long; and whenever formed with a short, that is a shut vowel, they reckon it short."
- 8 Archaic form of shot (“discharged, cleared, rid of something”). alt-of, archaic, not-comparable
"When he asked her, she said, she thanked God he was dead, (the woman was glad to get shut of him) and said he died of an ague and fever."
Adjective
- 1 not open wordnet
- 2 used especially of mouth or eyes wordnet
Example
"The burglar shut the child in the closet."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shut"?
Common synonyms include: close, exclude, alley, ban, bang, bar.
How do you use "shut" in a sentence?
The burglar shut the child in the closet.
How do you pronounce "shut"?
Pronounced /ʃʌt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English schitten, schetten, from Old English scyttan (“to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttijaną (“to bar, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō (“bar, bolt, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to drive, fall upon, rush”). The Modern English word was originally a dialect form; the Old English word would have normally merged with shit. Cognate with Dutch schutten (“to shut in, lock up”), Low German schütten (“to shut, lock in”), German schützen (“to shut out, dam, protect, guard”).
Etymology 2
Variation of chute or shute (archaic, related to shoot) from Old English scēotan.