Definition of: shut

(shut) v. shut, shut·ting v.t.
1. To bring into such position as to close an opening or aperture; close, as a door, lid, or valve.
2. To close (an opening, aperture, etc.) so as to prevent ingress or egress.
3. To close and fasten securely, as with a latch or lock.
4. To forbid entrance into or exit from.
5. To keep from entering or leaving; confine or exclude; bar: with in, out, from, etc.
6. To close, fold, or bring together, as extended, expanded, or unfolded parts: to shut an umbrella.
7. To hide from view; obscure.
—v.i.
8. To be or become closed or in a closed position.
—to shut down
1. To cease from operating, as a factory or mine; close up; stop work.
2. To lower; come down close: The fog shut down.
3. Colloq. To suppress: with on.
—to shut one's eyes to To ignore.
—to shut out In sports, to keep (an opponent) from scoring during the course of a game.
—to shut up
1. Colloq. To stop talking or cause to stop talking.
2. Colloq. To become exhausted and stop running, as a horse in a race.
3. To close all the entrances to, as a house.
4. To imprison; confine.
—adjective
1. Made fast or closed.
2. Not sonorous; dull: said of sound.
3. Phonet. a Formed by closing the oral and nasal passages completely, preparatory to uttering certain sounds: said of certain consonants, as t, p, k, b, and d. b Cut off sharply by succeeding consonants: said of vowels, as i in pit and o in top.
4. Dial. Freed, as from something disagreeable; rid: with of.
—noun
1. The act of shutting; also, the time of shutting, closing, or ending: the shut of day.
2. The place of shutting or closing together; specifically, the junction between welded pieces of metal. [OE scyttan] Synonyms (verb): bar, beleaguer, block, blockade, close, confine, enclose, exclude, imprison, intercept, preclude, prohibit, seal, stop. Antonyms: expand, liberate, open, unbar, unclose, undo, unfasten.