shut in

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shut-in /adj. ˈʃʌtˈɪn; n. ˈʃʌtˌɪn/   adj. 

1. Medicine kept in or unable to leave one's home, a hospital, etc., as from illness:
   a shut-in, elderly patient.

n. [countable]

2. Medicine one forced to remain in a house, a hospital, etc., because of illness:
   He promised to visit all the many shut-ins.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shut /ʃʌt/   v., shut, shut•ting, adj. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) become closed: [~ + object]
   Shut the door.
   [no object]
   The doors shut quickly behind him.
2. to close the doors of: [~ (+ up) + object]
   to shut (up) a house for the night.
   [~ + object (+ up)]
   to shut a house (up) for the winter.
3. to close by bringing together the parts of:
   [~ + object] Shut your book.
4. to confine;
   enclose:
   [~ + object] to shut a bird into a cage.
5. to bar;
   keep out;
   exclude:
   [~ + object] They shut him from their circle.
6. to (cause to) end or suspend operations: [~ + object]
   shutting the office for two weeks.
   [no object]
   The stores shut at noon.
7. shut down, to suspend the operation of (something): [no object]
   The automobile plant shut down last year.
   [~ + down + object]
   They shut down the automobile plant last year.
   [~ + object + down]
   They shut the plant down.
8. shut off:
   • to stop the passage of: [~ + off + object]
     He shut off the flow of water.
     [~ + object + off]
     to shut the electricity off.
   • [~ + object + off] to isolate;
     separate:
     The storm shut the island off from the mainland.
9. shut out:
   • [~ + object + out] to keep from entering;
     exclude:
     to shut someone out of the club.
   • to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring: [~ + out + object]
     The pitcher shut out the last two teams.
     [~ + object + out]
     She shut them out.
10. shut up:
    • to imprison;
      confine: [~ + object + up]
      They shut the prisoners up in a tiny room.
      [~ + up + object]
      to shut up the prisoners in a tiny room.
    • to close entirely: [~ + up + object]
      They shut up their store for vacation.
      [~ + object + up]
      to shut the old house up until it was sold.
    • [no object] to stop talking;
      become silent:
      After nearly twenty minutes he finally shut up.
    • [~ + object + up] to stop (someone) from talking;
      silence (someone):
      Will somebody please shut her up?

adj. 

11. closed;
    fastened up:
    a shut door.

Idioms

12. Idioms shut one's eyes to, [~ + object] to refuse to accept or acknowledge:
    He shut his eyes to all the crime in his old neighborhood.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shut-in  (shut′in′), adj. 

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

n. 

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

• adjective, adjectival, noun, nominal use of verb, verbal phrase shut in 1840–50, American.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shut  (shut), v., shut, shut•ting, adj., n. 
v.t. 

1. to put (a door, cover, etc.) in position to close or obstruct.
2. to close the doors of (often fol. 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 business, factory, store, etc.) to end or suspend operations:
   He shut his store, sold his house, and moved away. We're shutting the office for two weeks in June.
7. to bolt;
   bar.

v.i. 

8. to become shut or closed;
   close.
9. shut down:
   • to settle over so as to envelop or darken:
     The fog shut down rapidly.
   • to close, esp. temporarily, as a factory;
     cease manufacturing or business operations.
   • Informal Terms Also, shut down on or upon. to hinder;
     check;
     stop.
10. shut in:
    • to enclose.
    • to confine, as from illness:
      She broke her leg in a fall and has been shut in for several weeks.
11. shut off:
    • to stop the passage of (water, traffic, electricity, etc.);
      close off.
    • to isolate;
      separate:
      an outpost almost completely shut off from civilization.
12. shut out:
    • to keep from entering;
      exclude.
    • to hide from view.
    • to prevent (an opponent or opposing team) from scoring, as in a game of baseball.
13. shut up:
    • to imprison;
      confine.
    • to close entirely.
    • to stop talking;
      become silent:
      I thought the neighbors would never shut up and let me sleep.
    • to stop (someone) from talking;
      silence.

adj. 

14. closed;
    fastened up:
    a shut door.
15. Phonetics checked.
16. Informal Terms shut of, free of;
    rid of:
    He wished he were shut of all his debts.

n. 

17. the act or time of shutting or closing.
18. Metallurgy the line where two pieces of welded metal are united.

• bef. 1000; Middle English schutten, Old English scyttan to bolt (a door); akin to shoot

Synonyms

• 1. See close. 
• 4. jail, imprison, cage.
• 5. prohibit.

Antonyms

• 1. open.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shut-in noun

1. a person confined indoors by illness
2. (as modifier): a shut-in patient
3. a condition in which the patient is highly withdrawn, engages in solitary activities, and is unable to express his or her own feelings
   See also schizoid