1
[ verb ] refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent

Synonyms

be_quiet clam_up belt_up button_up dummy_up keep_mum close_up

Examples

"The children shut up when their father approached"

Used in print

(Perry Miller "Theodore Parker: Apostasy within Liberalism"...)

`` If it gave me pleasure to say hard things '' , he wrote , `` I would shut_up forever '' .

Related terms

open_up

2
[ adjective ] closely confined

Synonyms

pent

Used in print

(Jane Gilmore Rushing, "Against the Moon,"...)

The women , keeping their voices low as they worked around the house or sat in the living_room , sounded like chickens shut_up in a coop for the night .

Related terms

confined

3
[ verb ] place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape

Synonyms

lock_up put_away lock_in lock shut_away lock_away

Examples

"The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend" "She locked her jewels in the safe"

Used in print

(Genevieve Holden, Deadlier Than the Male....)

Whoever it was had meant to shut him up in here , had followed him and waited till the courthouse and square were deserted .

Related terms

confine locking

4
[ verb ] cause to be quiet or not talk

Synonyms

silence still hush hush_up quieten

Examples

"Please silence the children in the church!"

Used in print

(W. H. Gass, "The Pedersen Kid," in The...)

`` Shut_up .

Related terms

louden suppress dampen lull gag shush shout_down whitewash hush silence silence muteness hush silencer hush

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Similar Spelling

shoot_up shtup shut_off sheet_web

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