Shut v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shut; p. pr. & vb. n. Shutting.]
1. To close so as to hinder ingress or egress; as, to shut a door or a gate; to shut one's eyes or mouth.
2. To forbid entrance into; to prohibit; to bar; as, to shut the ports of a country by a blockade.
Shall that be shut to man which to the beast
Is open? --Milton.
3. To preclude; to exclude; to bar out. “Shut from every shore.”
4. To fold together; to close over, as the fingers; to close by bringing the parts together; as, to shut the hand; to shut a book.
To shut in. (a) To inclose; to confine. “The Lord shut him in.” --Cen. vii. 16. (b) To cover or intercept the view of; as, one point shuts in another.
To shut off. (a) To exclude. (b) To prevent the passage of, as steam through a pipe, or water through a flume, by closing a cock, valve, or gate.
To shut out, to preclude from entering; to deny admission to; to exclude; as, to shut out rain by a tight roof.
To shut together, to unite; to close, especially to close by welding.
To shut up. (a) To close; to make fast the entrances into; as, to shut up a house. (b) To obstruct. “Dangerous rocks shut up the passage.” --Sir W. Raleigh. (c) To inclose; to confine; to imprison; to fasten in; as, to shut up a prisoner.
Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. --Gal. iii. 23.
(d) To end; to terminate; to conclude.
When the scene of life is shut up, the slave will be above his master if he has acted better. --Collier.
(e) To unite, as two pieces of metal by welding. (f) To cause to become silent by authority, argument, or force.
Shut, v. i. To close itself; to become closed; as, the door shuts; it shuts hard.
To shut up, to cease speaking. [Colloq.]