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shut

(shŭt)

v. shut, shut·ting, shuts

v.tr.

a. To move (a door or lid, for example) so as to block passage through an opening.

b. To fasten with a lock, catch, or latch: shut the cabinet.

2. To block entrance to or exit from; close: shut a corridor.

3. To confine in a closed space: shut them in a cage.

4. To exclude from a closed space: shut the cats out of the house.

5. To fold up or bring together the parts of: shut the book.

6. To cause to stop operating: shut down a restaurant; a school that was shut for the vacation.

v.intr.

1. To move or become moved so as to block passage; close: a door that shuts by itself.

2. To stop operating, especially automatically: The electricity shuts off at midnight.

1. The act or time of shutting.

2. The line of connection between welded pieces of metal.

Phrasal Verbs:

shut off

1. To stop the flow or passage of; cut off: shut off the hot water by closing a valve.

2. To close off; isolate: loners who shut themselves off from the community.

shut out Sports

To prevent (an opponent) from scoring any runs or points.

shut up

1. To cause (someone) to stop speaking; silence.

2. To stop speaking.

Idiom:

shut (one's) eyes to

To refuse to consider or acknowledge: administrators who shut their eyes to pervasive corruption.

[Middle English shutten, from Old English scyttan; see skeud- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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