shut

To shut something is to close it. This is an irregular verb.

• Please, shut the door.
• It’s too cold in here. Shut the window.
• If you don’t shut the door properly, the light inside the car stays on.
• For some reason, this door wasn’t shut.
• Shut your mouth!

The word "shut" is often used with a preposition:

• The business was shut down for good last week.
• The city shut down an illegal betting parlor in our neighborhood.
• People were shut inside their homes for days following the blizzard.
• To shut off the water, turn the handle on the faucet.
• Your home should have shut-off valves leading to plumbing and gas fixtures.
• Please, shut out the lights. (Turn off the lights.)

A very common use for "shut" is with the preposition "up." This is used when one person wants another person to stop talking. "Shut up" is not polite, but it is commonly used.

• The teacher told the students who were talking to shut up.
• You’d better shut up about this. (Stop talking about this.)
• She won’t shut up.
• Why don’t they just shut up?
• Shut up!

He won’t shut up.

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April 2, 2019