shut
[verb]
Synonyms: close, fasten, seal, secure, slam

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Antonyms: open
Related Words: lock, seal, batten (down)

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English Thesaurus: close, shut, slam, draw the curtains, put the lid on something, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. shut¹ S1 W2 /ʃʌt/ verb (past tense and past participle shut, present participle shutting)
[Language: Old English; Origin: scyttan]

1. [intransitive and transitive] to close something, or to become closed:
Shut the window, Ellen!
I heard his bedroom door shut.
She lay down on her bed and shut her eyes.
shut (something) behind somebody
She walked quickly in and shut the door behind her.
He shut the drawer and turned the key.

2. shut your mouth/face/trap! (also shut your gob!/shut it! British English) spoken not polite used to tell someone to stop talking

3. [intransitive and transitive] British English to stop being open to the public for a short time or permanently Synonym : close:
The post office shuts at 5 o'clock.
At midday we shut the shop for lunch.
He lost his job when they shut the factory.

4. shut your eyes/ears to something to deliberately refuse to notice or pay attention to something:
We ought not to shut our eyes to these facts.
She heard the boys shouting to her to stop, but she shut her ears to them.

5. shut something in the door/drawer etc British Englishshut the door/drawer etc on something American English to shut a door etc against something so that it gets trapped there:
I shut my finger in the back door yesterday and it still hurts.
shut somebody/something ↔ away phrasal verb

1. to put someone or something in a place away from other people where they cannot be seen:
A lot of people are classed as mad and shut away unnecessarily.

2. shut yourself away to deliberately avoid seeing people by staying at home or going to a quiet place, especially because you are very unhappy or want to study, write etc:
When news came of Robin’s death, she shut herself away and saw no one.
shut yourself away in
She shut herself away in her room to work on her novel.
shut down phrasal verb

1. if a company, factory, large machine etc shuts down or is shut down, it stops operating, either permanently or for a short time:
Our local hardware shop has shut down.
shut something ↔ down
an accident which resulted in two of the plant’s nuclear reactors being shut down
The way to shut the machine down is to type EXIT.

2. shut somebody ↔ down informal to prevent an opposing team or player from playing well or getting points:
We all knew that to win we’d have to shut down Bobby Mitchell.
shut somebody in (something) phrasal verb
a) if you shut someone in a room, you close the door and stop them from getting out:
Her parents shut her in an upstairs room.
He pushed the dogs into the breakfast room and shut them in.
b) shut yourself in (something) if you shut yourself in a room, you close the door and stay in there, and often stop other people from coming in:
Ellie darted back to her room and shut herself in.
He shut himself in his room and wrote letters.
shut off phrasal verb

1. if a machine, tool etc shuts off or if you shut it off, it stops operating Synonym : turn off:
The iron shuts off automatically if it gets too hot.
shut something ↔ off
I let the engine run for a minute and then shut it off.
Don’t forget to shut off the water supply.

2. shut something ↔ off to prevent goods or supplies from being available or being delivered:
a strike that closed the mines and shut off coal supplies

3. shut yourself off to avoid meeting and talking to other people
shut yourself off from
He was cold and remote, shutting himself off from her completely.

4. be shut off from somebody/something to be separated from other people or things, especially so that you are not influenced by them:
The valley is shut off from the modern world.
shut out phrasal verb

1. shut somebody out to deliberately not let someone join you in an activity or share your thoughts and feelings:
How can I help you if you just keep shutting me out all the time?
shut somebody out from
I felt I was being shut out from all the family’s affairs.

2. shut somebody/something ↔ out to prevent someone or something from entering a place:
heavy curtains that shut out the sunlight
shut somebody/something ↔ out from
The door closed firmly, shutting me out from the warmth inside.

3. shut something ↔ out to stop yourself from thinking about or noticing something, so that you are not affected by it:
People close their windows at night in a vain attempt to shut out the sound of gunfire.
She shut out memories of James.
Jenny closed her eyes and tried to shut everything out.

4. shut out somebody American English to defeat an opposing sports team and prevent them from getting any points:
Colorado shut out Kansas City 3–0.
shut up phrasal verb

1. shut up! spoken not polite used to tell someone to stop talking Synonym : be quiet!:
Oh, shut up! I don’t want to hear your excuses.
Just shut up and listen.
shut up! about
Shut up about your stupid dog, okay!

2. shut (somebody) up informal to stop talking or be quiet, or to make someone do this:
I can’t stand that woman. She never shuts up.
shut (somebody) up about
I wish you’d shut up about Chris.
I only said that to shut her up.

3. shut somebody up to keep someone in a place away from other people, and prevent them from leaving
shut somebody up in
I’ve had a terrible cold and been shut up in my room for a week.
Was there any need to keep us shut up here?

4. shut something ↔ up to close a shop, room etc so that people cannot get into it:
Bernadette cleaned the attic and then shut it up for another year.

5. shut up shop British English informal to close a business or stop working, at the end of the day or permanently

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. shut² adjective [not before noun]

1. not open Synonym : closed:
Is the door shut properly?
She kept the windows shut, for fear of burglars.
He sat with his eyes shut.
The windows were tightly shut.
slam/bang/swing etc shut
The door slammed shut behind him.
pull/kick/slam etc something shut
Jenny pulled the window shut. ⇒ keep your mouth shut at keep¹(2)

2. British English if a shop, bar etc is shut, it is not open for business Synonym : closed:
in the evening when the shops are shut
Sorry, but we’re shut.
shut for
The first four hotels we tried were shut for the winter.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shut
adj.
I. in a closed position
VERBS be, look | bang, blow, clang, click, clunk, slam, slide, swing The window blew shut. The elevator door slid shut.
remain, stay | be clenched, be jammed His jaw was clenched shut.
bang sth, kick sth, leave sth, pull sth, slam sth, slide sth, snap sth I'll leave the window shut for now. He slammed the case shut. She snapped shut a file on her desk.
keep sth The gates are always kept shut. (figurative) Afraid to ask seemingly stupid questions, I kept my mouth shut.
ADV. firmly, properly, tightly The door was firmly shut.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shut
II. not open to the public
VERBS be, look The bars all look shut to me.
remain
PREP. for The park is now shut for the winter.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

close to stop being open, or to make something stop being open. You use close and shut especially about your eyes, your mouth, a door, a window, or a container:
Can I close the window?
Her eyes slowly closed.
He closed the door gently, so as not to wake the children.
shut to close something . Shut sometimes has a feeling of doing something quickly and firmly, whereas close sounds more careful:
He shut the door with a loud bang.
Shut your eyes and go to sleep.
slam to close a door or lid quickly and noisily, especially because you are angry:
She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
draw the curtains to close curtains by pulling them across a window:
The curtains were still drawn at ten o'clock in the morning.
put the lid on something to close a container by putting a lid onto it:
Did you put the lid on the cookie jar?
seal to close something so that no air or water can get in or out:
In this experiment, the chamber must be completely sealed.
take/get a close look
She moved forward to take a close look at the painting.
keep a close eye/watch on somebody/something (=watch someone or something carefully)
They have to keep a close eye on their finances.
a close examination
A closer examination of the facts soon solved the mystery.
a close study
Their research involved a close study of two communities.
close attention
You will lose weight if you combine exercise with close attention to your diet.
close scrutiny (=careful and thorough examination of someone or something)
The investigation included close scrutiny of the images on CCTV.
close inspection (=looking at someone or something in detail)
Closer inspection revealed that the rocks were from an earlier period.
close supervision (=constantly making sure that someone does things in the correct way)
Initially there will be close supervision of the trainee.
similar adjective almost the same:
Jo said she’d had a similar experience.
The colours are very similar, but I like this one best.
like preposition similar to something or someone else:
It tastes a little like chicken.
She still looks like a teenager.
alike adjective [not before noun] very similar - used especially about the way people look or behave:
She and her sister look alike.
Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.
much the same very similar:
The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.
People are much the same, wherever you go.
She still looks very much the same.
identical adjective exactly the same:
The two computers were identical in design.
identical names
matching adjective having the same colour, style, pattern etc as something else - used about clothes or furniture that you wear or use together:
She wore matching silver shoes and handbag.
a dining table and matching chairs
akin to something formal fairly similar to something:
These dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.
near only a short distance from something or someone:
I live near Salzburg in Austria.
If we moved to Dallas, we’d be near my parents.
not far (away) not a long distance away – used when saying that a place is near enough to be easy to get to:
The station’s not far away from here.
nearby near here or near a particular place:
Is there a post office nearby?
A group of reporters were waiting nearby.
within walking distance (of something) easy to walk to from somewhere, or near enough to something for you to walk there:
There’s a good school within walking distance.
The house is within walking distance of shopping facilities.
be convenient for something British English, be convenient to something American English to be near a place that people want to get to, so that the place is easy to reach:
The area is very convenient for Gatwick airport.
I want a hotel that’s convenient for the city centre.
locally in or near the area where you are or the area you are talking about:
I prefer to buy fruit and vegetables that are grown locally.
around here (also round here British English) spoken in the general area near here:
Parking is impossible around here.
Is there a garage round here?
in the neighbourhood British English, in the neighborhood American English living or existing in the area where you are or the area you are talking about:
We grew up knowing all the other kids in the neighbourhood.
There’s very little crime in the neighborhood.
in the vicinity formal in the area around and near a particular place – used especially in news reports:
A white van was seen in the vicinity at the time the murder took place.
neighbouring British English, neighboring American English used about towns, countries etc that are very near a particular place:
discussions between Egypt and neighbouring states
The rioting quickly spread to neighbouring areas.
start up/boot up to make a computer start working:
I’m having problems starting up my computer.
log on/in to start using a computer system by typing your name and password:
He logged on and read his emails.
click on something to press a button on a computer mouse to choose a program, file etc from the screen:
When you click on the link, it sends you to the company’s website.
install to add new software to a computer so that the software is ready to be used:
All users should install anti-virus software.
download to move information, pictures, or music from the Internet onto your computer:
You can download MP3 files.
upload to move information, pictures, or music from your computer to a different computer across the Internet:
Sites such as YouTube allow you to upload your own videos.
open to make a file or program ready to use:
Open a new file and type in the information.
scroll up/down to move information on a computer screen up or down so that you can read it:
Scroll down to read the questions and answers.
enter to type information into a computer:
The program requires you to enter a password.
delete to remove information from a computer:
I’ve deleted his email.
When you delete a file, it first gets moved to the recycle bin.
cut and paste to remove information from one place and put it in another place:
Tutors are looking out for students who cut and paste their essays from the Internet.
save to make a computer keep the work that you have done on it:
Make sure you save any work you do before you shut the computer down.
close to stop having a file or program ready to use:
To close the window, click on the ‘X’ in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
log off/out to stop using a computer system by giving it particular instructions:
I get an error message when I log off.
shut down to make a computer stop working:
Employees should shut their computers down at the end of each day.
restart/reboot to make a computer start working again:
Wait a few minutes before rebooting your computer.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

close to stop being open, or to make something stop being open. You use close and shut especially about your eyes, your mouth, a door, a window, or a container:
Can I close the window?
Her eyes slowly closed.
He closed the door gently, so as not to wake the children.
shut to close something . Shut sometimes has a feeling of doing something quickly and firmly, whereas close sounds more careful:
He shut the door with a loud bang.
Shut your eyes and go to sleep.
slam to close a door or lid quickly and noisily, especially because you are angry:
She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
draw the curtains to close curtains by pulling them across a window:
The curtains were still drawn at ten o'clock in the morning.
put the lid on something to close a container by putting a lid onto it:
Did you put the lid on the cookie jar?
seal to close something so that no air or water can get in or out:
In this experiment, the chamber must be completely sealed.
tightly/tight shut
He went on sobbing, his eyes tight shut.
firmly shut
The door remained firmly shut.
something slams/bangs shut
The front door slammed shut.
something swings shut
The gate swung shut behind her.
pull/kick/slam something shut
He pulled the trapdoor shut over his head.
keep something shut
When it’s so hot, we keep the doors and windows shut and put on the air conditioner.
screw/squeeze your eyes shut (=shut your eyes tight)

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shut
ʃʌt
See: keep one's mouth shut , put up or shut up , close one's eyes

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲