shutter

UK: /ˈʃʌtə^r/ US: /ˈʃʌtɚ/ ,(shut′ər)

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

shut•ter /ˈʃʌtɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a solid, movable cover for a window.
2. a movable cover, etc., for an opening, such as over the opening of a camera lens that controls the exposure of the film.

v. [~ + object]

3. to close or provide with shutters:
   to shutter a window.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shut•ter  (shut′ər), n. 

1. a solid or louvered movable cover for a window.
2. a movable cover, slide, etc., for an opening.
3. a person or thing that shuts.
4. Photography a mechanical device for opening and closing the aperture of a camera lens to expose film or the like.

v.t. 

5. to close or provide with shutters:
   She shuttered the windows.
6. to close (a store or business operations) for the day or permanently.

v.i. 

7. to close or close down:
   The factory has shuttered temporarily.

• shut + -er¹ 1535–45

shut′ter•less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. See curtain. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shutter / ˈʃʌtə/ noun

1. a hinged doorlike cover, often louvred and usually one of a pair, for closing off a window
2. put up the shutters ⇒ to close business at the end of the day or permanently
3. an opaque shield in a camera that, when tripped, admits light to expose the film or plate for a predetermined period, usually a fraction of a second. It is either built into the lens system or lies in the focal plane of the lens (focal-plane shutter)
4. one of the louvred covers over the mouths of organ pipes, operated by the swell pedal
5. a person or thing that shuts

verb (transitive)

1. to close with or as if with a shutter or shutters
2. to equip with a shutter or shutters
3. to close down (a business)