ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shut

v.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈʃət// UK //ʃˈʌt// shut Archaic Dialect General-service

v. to move something like a door or a window so that an opening is covered. You use this when you want to stop people or things from going through.

v. to move a door, lid, or similar object into a position that covers an opening. Often used interchangeably with 'close', though it carries a more forceful or final connotation in certain contexts.


SIMPLE

Please shut the door when you leave the room.

CONTEXTUAL

The shopkeeper decided to shut the store early because of the heavy snowstorm.

COMPLEX

After the final guest departed, she heard the heavy oak door shut with a definitive click that echoed through the empty hallway.

Synonyms
Antonyms
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.

Usage

The verb is transitive when used with an object like 'door', but can be intransitive when describing the action of the door itself.

Pitfall

He has shutted the windowHe has shut the windowThe verb 'shut' is irregular; its past tense and past participle forms are both 'shut', not 'shutted'.

Idioms9 entries

© 2026 English Reference