shut-in

shut-in [shuht-in] SynonymsWord Origin See more synonyms for shut-in on Thesaurus.com adjective

1. confined to one’s home, a hospital, etc., as from illness.
2. Psychiatry. disposed to desire solitude; withdrawn; asocial.
3. (of an oil or gas well) temporarily sealed up.

noun

4. a person confined by infirmity or disease to the house, a hospital, etc.
5. Also called shut-in well. an oil or gas well that has been closed down.

Origin of shut-in 1840–50, Americanism; adj., noun use of verb phrase shut in shut [shuht] verb (used with object), shut, shut·ting.

1. to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
2. to close the doors of (often followed by up): to shut up a shop for the night.
3. to close (something) by bringing together or folding its parts: Shut your book. Shut the window!
4. to confine; enclose: to shut a bird into a cage.
5. to bar; exclude: They shut him from their circle.
6. to cause (a factory, school, etc.) to end or suspend operations, services, or business activity: He shut his store, sold his house, and moved away. We’re shutting the office for two weeks in June.
7. to bolt; bar.

verb (used without object), shut, shut·ting.

8. to become shut or closed; close.

adjective

9. closed; fastened up: a shut door.
10. Phonetics. checked(def 2).

noun

11. the act or time of shutting or closing.
12. the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.

Verb Phrases

13. shut down,
    1. to close, especially temporarily; end or suspend operations, services, or business activity.
    2. to stop operating or stop the operation of (a machine): Did you remember to shut down your computer?
    3. Also shut down on/upon.Informal.to hinder; check; stop from doing or saying something: He appeared on the talk show to shut down his critics.
    4. Informal.to defeat or outdo:The team was able to shut down the offense.
    5. to settle over so as to envelop or darken: The fog shut down rapidly.
14. shut in,
    1. to enclose.
    2. to confine, as from illness: She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
15. shut of, Informal. free of; rid of: He wished he were shut of all his debts.
16. shut off,
    1. to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.); close off.
    2. to isolate; separate: an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
17. shut out,
    1. to keep from entering; exclude.
    2. to hide from view.
    3. to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
18. shut up,
    1. to imprison; confine.
    2. to close entirely.
    3. to stop talking; become silent: I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
    4. to stop (someone) from talking; silence.

Origin of shut before 1000; Middle English s(c)hutten, s(c)hetten, s(c)hitten Old English scyttan “to bolt (a door)”; akin to shoot1 Related formshalf-shut, adjectivere·shut, verb, re·shut, re·shut·ting.un·shut, adjectiveSynonyms for shut See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 4. jail, imprison, cage. 5. prohibit.Synonym study 1. See close.Antonyms for shut 1. open. Related Words for shut in restricted, cramped, imprisoned, restrained, inmate, case, victim, subject, sufferer, incarcerate, apprehend, detain, jail, commit, hold, remand, inhibit, narrow, decrease British Dictionary definitions for shut in shut verb shuts, shutting or shut

1. to move (something) so as to cover an aperture; closeto shut a door
2. to close (something) by bringing together the partsto shut a book
3. (tr often foll by up) to close or lock the doors ofto shut up a house
4. (tr; foll by in, out, etc) to confine, enclose, or excludeto shut a child in a room
5. (tr) to prevent (a business, etc) from operating
6. shut one’s eyes to to ignore deliberately
7. shut the door on
   1. to refuse to think about
   2. to render impossible

adjective

8. closed or fastened

noun

9. the act or time of shutting
10. the line along which pieces of metal are welded
11. get shut of or get shot of slang to get rid of

See also shutdown, shut-off, shutout, shut up Word Origin for shut Old English scyttan; related to Old Frisian sketta to shut in, Middle Dutch schutten to obstruct shut-in noun

1. mainly US and Canadian
   1. a person confined indoors by illness
   2. (as modifier)a shut-in patient
2. psychiatry a condition in which the person is highly withdrawn and unable to express his own feelingsSee also schizoid

Word Origin and History for shut in shut v.

Old English scyttan “to put (a bolt) in place so as to fasten a door or gate, bolt, shut to; discharge, pay off,” from West Germanic *skutjan (cf. Old Frisian schetta, Middle Dutch schutten “to shut, shut up, obstruct”), from PIE *skeud- “to shoot, chase, throw” (see shoot (v.)). Related: Shutting.

Meaning “to close by folding or bringing together” is from mid-14c. Meaning “prevent ingress and egress” is from mid-14c. Sense of “to set (someone) free (from)” (c.1500) is obsolete except in dialectal phrases such as to get shut of. To shut (one’s) mouth “desist from speaking” is recorded from mid-14c.

shut-in n.

“person confined from normal social intercourse,” 1904, from the verbal phrase, from shut (v.) + in (adv.).

shut in in Medicine shut-in [shŭt′ĭn′] n.

1. A person confined indoors by illness or disability.

adj.

1. Confined to a home or hospital, as by illness.
2. Disposed to avoid social contact; excessively withdrawn or introverted.

Idioms and Phrases with shut in shut

In addition to the idioms beginning with shut

shut down

shut off

shut one’s eyes to

shut out

shut the door

shut up

also see:

close (shut) down

close (shut) one’s eyes to

close (shut) the door on

keep one’s mouth shut

open and shut case

put up or shut up