How to Use shut in a Sentence

shut

1 of 3 verb
Definition of shutnext
Synonyms for shutnext
  • They plan to shut the factory by the end of the year.
  • He shut his eyes and went to sleep.
  • She shut the book loudly.
  • The owner is shutting the pub for the weekend.
  • The door shut slowly behind me.
  • I accidentally shut the door on her fingers.
  • The fiery crash shut the bridge down for more than 24 hours.
    — Mark Osborne, ABC News, 24 Nov. 2023
  • The boy was placed in the back of a sheriff's vehicle and the door was shut.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Now the nation’s largest banks seem to be rushing to shut them down.
    — Mallika Mitra, wsj.com, 11 Dec. 2023
  • The resident then heard their garage door open and shut.
    — Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Test Kitchen Tip: Don't fill the grids completely; the batter will spread to the edges when the lid is shut.
    — Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 July 2023
  • Dean and Auburn turned to Penta again in the sixth, as the right-hander reentered the game and shut the door on the Rebels.
    — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 11 May 2023
  • Across the room, the door to his office softly whooshes shut.
    — Brian O'Keefe, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2024
  • Harvard had always kept the door open for him in the past, but the Ivy League was about to slam that door shut.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 10 May 2023
  • And if the brothers try to shut it down now, the board will simply send them packing.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2023
  • After brunch service on New Year’s Eve, the Egret will shut its doors.
    — Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2023
  • Then something happens: a sound comes from one of the back rooms, and the narrator has to shut the door.
    — Julia Kornberg, The New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Six hospitals in Gaza have been forced to shut due to a lack of fuel, WHO added.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN, 25 Oct. 2023
  • But the Golden Bears rallied, shut Idaho out the rest of the way and won comfortably 31-17.
    — Bill Oram, oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023
  • The stores Target plans to close will shut their doors on October 21.
    — Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
  • The trick to eating this successfully is to shut your eyes and try not to think or breathe.
    — Anna Pallai, CNN, 9 June 2023
  • But this is a marathon, not a sprint, and the finish line is a long way away and will not end with the clink of a prison cell door slamming shut.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 25 July 2023
  • They are told that the city’s gonna shut the building down if people complain too much.
    — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Luke then got aggressive and tried to slam and lock the door shut before he was removed.
    — Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2023
  • But opponents argued it would be used to shut them down or put them in jail.
    — Bradford Betz, Fox News, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Mille’s method calls for shutting the oven off, opening the door and letting the cake sit inside for one hour.
    — Lisa Waterman Gray, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024
  • When a child approaches a screen, the eye shuts, and images from the Met’s collection take its place.
    — Laurel Graeber, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Watched a few minutes of basketball with me, likely just to shut me up?
    — Megan Angelo, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Her jaw has been tied shut with gauze, her hands tied together to rest on her stomach.
    — Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Yearling opened the door, then quickly shut it, according to the report.
    — Kelli Smith, Dallas News, 14 July 2023
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shut

2 of 3 adjective
  • Check to make sure that all the windows are shut.
  • She listened to the music with her eyes shut.
  • When the commander gives the sign, the massive train doors are cranked shut.
    — New York Times, 18 May 2021
  • Was anyone on the team able to catch some shut eye Sunday night?
    — Vytas Mazeika, The Mercury News, 15 May 2017
  • So the idea that this is some open and shut case that's no longer worth discussing is ridiculous.
    — Jack Moore, GQ, 27 July 2017
  • That would be just fine with Mr Trump: the longer the justices tarry, the longer his books stay shut to prying eyes.
    — The Economist, 18 Nov. 2019
  • As schools remain shut, millions of women have had to leave the workforce.
    — World Economic Forum, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021
  • Their slack faces have the look of Greek masks: slits for shut eyes and black sockets for nostrils, mouths turned down like sickle moons.
    — Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
  • My favorite design detail is the little rubber Swedish flag that pokes out from the shut line of the hood, just ahead of the driver's door.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 Dec. 2019
  • Others remain shut to deal with damage and lack of water.
    — Tim Johnson, miamiherald, 10 Oct. 2017
  • That was tantamount to ordering middle and high schools for girls to stay shut.
    — Margherita Stancati, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2022
  • But even if everything James Comey says is true, is an obstruction case open and shut?
    — Danny Cevallos, CNN, 8 June 2017
  • For the second straight year, the open and shut case for the best girls basketball player in the Last Frontier has been officially closed.
    — Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Glass window clips can also be used to ensure your windows stay shut.
    — Taylor Eisenhauer, Southern Living, 30 June 2020
  • Restaurants and hotels remain shut and cafes once packed with tourists sit empty.
    — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, 19 Apr. 2020
  • Abbott has said that unless Texas gets below that number, bars are likely to stay shut.
    — Arkansas Online, 15 Aug. 2020
  • Schools remained shut and two former chief ministers of the state were arrested.
    — Niha Masih, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2019
  • The bond market closed at 2 p.m. and will remain shut Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
    — Sam Goldfarb, WSJ, 26 May 2017
  • Museums and libraries also got the green light, but gyms, swimming pools, theaters and nail bars remain shut.
    — Washington Post, 4 July 2020
  • McCreary is also wary of what happens when some campuses start to reopen in the fall while others remain shut.
    — Chris Quintana, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2021
  • Some parents also face child care problems because their kids' schools remain shut.
    — John Phelan, Star Tribune, 27 Apr. 2021
  • Fitted with lockdown latches and hard plastic feet, the case effectively stays shut and in place on winding roads.
    — Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023
  • Schools and many businesses remain shut, while ordinary citizens wait days in mile-long lines for gas.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 20 July 2022
  • The officer had cuts on his arms and a 2-inch laceration on the back of his head, skull fractures and both of his eyes were swollen shut, according to hospital records obtained by FOX 25.
    — Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 26 May 2023
  • Laptops were snapped shut, tote bags were shouldered, lattes were poured from china cups into plastic glasses.
    — Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
  • Some of the main entrances will remain shut, shoppers will be required to wear face masks, and hand sanitizer and sneeze barriers will be everywhere.
    — Jordyn Holman, Bloomberg.com, 7 Oct. 2020
  • Clubs remain shut, hoping to soon reopen as Operation Blue Freedom picks up pace.
    — Elinda Labropoulou, CNN, 1 June 2021
  • Downtown merchants worry that the prolonged absence of office workers will cripple the local economy, and many stores and restaurants in the area remain shut.
    — Roland Li, SFChronicle.com, 19 Aug. 2020
  • Bars and restaurants are open, while adhering to social distancing rules, but nightclubs remain shut.
    — CNN, 30 Apr. 2021
  • In India’s rural districts, experts wonder why schools remain shut.
    — Manavi Kapur, Quartz, 4 Aug. 2021
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shut

3 of 3 noun
  • The gates slide shut, and the wall is designed to keep out storm surge.
    — David Schechter, Haley Rush, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2023
  • If they have not been informed of a shut-off, the amount due must be over $250.
    — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Her eye swelled shut and her skin broke out in head-to-toe hives.
    — Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2022
  • That action stretched a wire that pulled a bolt from the trap door, which fell shut.
    — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Apr. 2022
  • The man's back is pinned against the passenger seat, and his eyes are squeezed shut.
    — John Blake, CNN, 11 June 2022
  • Stretch out in one of six pods for part of your journey and catch some shut-eye.
    — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 29 June 2022
  • Fold or clip the top of the bag shut, which will seal the ethylene inside.
    — Beth Branch, Country Living, 26 May 2022
  • The agency said shut-offs and late fees will resume May 2.
    — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2022
  • The Instagram video showed that Glass' right eye was bruised and swollen shut.
    — Brendan Morrow, The Week, 12 July 2022
  • One shuttered the country and the other campaigned as a shut-in.
    — James Freeman, WSJ, 18 July 2022
  • The campus gardens were overgrown with weeds, and the doors of the old library were chained shut.
    — Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2021
  • This was a day that screamed for a shut-down effort by Gerrit Cole.
    — Pete Caldera, USA TODAY, 21 Aug. 2022
  • The eyes are sealed shut as the mask hardens, papier-mâché-style.
    — Jessie Heyman, Vogue, 17 Dec. 2021
  • His eyes hung half-shut; his tongue dangled from his beak.
    — Zachary T. Sampson, Sun Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2022
  • When his casket shut closed and a hymn began, the room erupted in grief.
    — Lilly Price, Baltimore Sun, 31 May 2022
  • When the 2021 nominations dropped last year, the main knock was a complete shut-out for the Weeknd.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2021
  • The woman’s eyes were pasted shut with what appeared to be wheat glue.
    — Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022
  • As the doors to the West were slamming shut, Yandex was imploding at home.
    — Paul Starobin, Wired, 22 Mar. 2022
  • Short sleepers are people who do well with about half of the shut-eye that the rest of us require to function.
    — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 23 May 2022
  • However, when the bag is zipped shut, your pet may not be able to stand up fully.
    — Lindsay Tigar, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Loop the chair's attachment ring onto the link and screw the connection shut.
    — Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Feb. 2022
  • There is also a nightclub scene with a dancer who has his eyes and lips sewn shut and ears all over his body.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 May 2022
  • Aiming to get at least seven hours of shut-eye a night will help your stress levels and your eyes.
    — Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021
  • The skin is scrubbed and washed, the cut sutured shut, the lips sewed together, makeup applied.
    — Oliver Whang, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2022
  • There were hives bubbling up on her arms and her throat was beginning to swell shut.
    — Bracey Harris, NBC News, 20 Nov. 2022
  • But passengers can also use it to get the shut-eye that in Hong Kong can be so elusive.
    — NBC News, 1 Jan. 2022
  • Get light-free shut-eye with Manta Sleep’s blackout eye mask.
    — Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2022
  • Another good old shut-up-and-play-ball kind of western film.
    — Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 23 May 2022
  • Her left eye was completely swollen shut, court records state.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, chicagotribune.com, 28 Feb. 2022
  • Keep your head above water, hold your nose shut, or use nose clips when in a body of warm freshwater.
    — Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 30 Aug. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shut.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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