Shut

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ʃʌt/, ʃɐt
• US IPA: /ʃʌt/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒt

From Middle English shutten, shetten, from Old English scyttan ("to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt, shut to, discharge a debt, pay off"), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttjaną ("to bar, bolt"), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō ("bar, bolt, shed"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keud- ("to drive, fall upon, rush"). Cognate with Dutch schutten ("to shut in, lock up"), German schützen ("to shut out, dam, protect, guard").

Full definition of shut

Verb

1. (transitive) To close, to stop from being open.Please shut the door.The light was so bright I had to shut my eyes.
2. (intransitive) To close, to stop being open.If you wait too long, the automatic door will shut.
3. (transitive or intransitive, chiefly British) To close a business temporarily, or (of a business) to be closed.The pharmacy is shut on Sunday.
4. To preclude; to exclude; to bar out.
• Drydenshut from every shore

Usage notes

Except when part of one of the derived terms listed below, almost every use of shut can be replaced by close. The reverse is not true -- there are many uses of close that cannot be replaced by shut.

Derived terms

Noun

1. The act or time of shutting; close.the shut of a door
• MiltonJust then returned at shut of evening flowers.
2. A door or cover; a shutter.
3. The line or place where two pieces of metal are welded together.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃʌt/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒt

Variation of chute or shute (archaic, related to shoot) from Old English scēotan.

Noun

1. (British, Shropshire dialect) A narrow alley or passage acting as a short cut through the buildings between two streets.

Synonyms

• (alleyway) alley, gennel Northern Ireland, ginnel Yorkshire and Lancashire, gitty East Midlands, jitty Midlands, passage, snicket Northern England, wynd Scotland

Anagrams

• huts
• STHU
• thus
• tush