- To shut up
- Shut Shut, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shut}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Shutting}.] [OE. shutten, schutten, shetten, schitten, AS.
scyttan to shut or lock up (akin to D. schutten, G.
sch["u]tzen to protect), properly, to fasten with a bolt or
bar shot across, fr. AS. sce['o]tan to shoot. [root]159. See
{Shoot}.]
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.
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2. To forbid entrance into; to prohibit; to bar; as, to shut the ports of a country by a blockade. [1913 Webster]
Shall that be shut to man which to the beast Is open? --Milton. [1913 Webster]
3. To preclude; to exclude; to bar out. ``Shut from every shore.'' --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
{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. [1913 Webster]
Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. --Gal. iii. 23. [1913 Webster] (d) To end; to terminate; to conclude. [1913 Webster]
When the scene of life is shut up, the slave will be above his master if he has acted better. --Collier. [1913 Webster] (e) To unite, as two pieces of metal by welding. (f) To cause to become silent by authority, argument, or force. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
