shut

/ʃʌt/

//ʃʌt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shut" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shut” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,738. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,738
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To close, in various senses.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shut · shut · English

shut · rank #1,738 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,738
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shooting

Nearest frequency peer: shooting (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “shut”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shut” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shut vs su
50% similar
shut vs sun
50% similar
shut vs sit
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shut
PropertyValue
Headwordshut
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ʃʌt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,738
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shut” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).shutlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “shooting” (#1,737), “standards” (#1,739), “require” (#1,736). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around shut (IPA /ʃʌt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,738 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for shut, with forms such as "hsut", "shhut", and "shtu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sun", "sit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schitten, schetten, from Old English scyttan (“to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttijaną (“to bar, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō (“bar, bolt, shed”), from Proto-Indo-E… The correct English form is shut, spelled S-H-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To close, in various senses.
  2. 2
    To close, in various senses.
  3. 3
    To close, in various senses.
  4. 4
    To close, in various senses.
  5. 5
    To close, in various senses.
  6. 6
    To close, in various senses.
  7. 7
    To catch or snag in the act of shutting something.
  8. 8
    To confine in an enclosed area; to enclose.
  9. 9
    To isolate, to close off from the world.
  10. 10
    To preclude, exclude.
  11. 11
    simple past and past participle of shut

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shut appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Please shut the door.
  2. The light was so bright I had to shut my eyes.

Etymology

From Middle English schitten, schetten, from Old English scyttan (“to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttijaną (“to bar, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō (“bar, bolt, shed”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to drive, fall upon, rush”). The Modern English word was originally a dialect form; the Old English word would have normally merged with shit. Cognate with Dutch schutten (“to shut in, lock up”), Low German schütten (“to shut, lock in”), German schützen (“to shut out, dam, protect, guard”).

This word in other languages

cerrar(Español)fermer(Français)schließen(Deutsch)fechar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsut
  • shhut
  • shtu
  • shutt
  • sshut
  • suht

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shut - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hsut2shhut1shtu2shutt1sshut1suht2
Edit distance from "shut"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shut"?
"shut" is spelled S-H-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃʌt/.
What does "shut" mean?
As a verb, "shut" means: To close, in various senses.
What words are commonly confused with "shut"?
"shut" is commonly confused with "su", "sun", "sit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shut" is /ʃʌt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shut"?
From Middle English schitten, schetten, from Old English scyttan (“to cause rapid movement, shoot a bolt, shut, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skutjaną, *skuttijaną (“to bar, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *skuttą, *skuttjō (“bar, bolt, shed”), from Pr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shut", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wood#1,743Mary#1,730copy#1,752dear#1,753

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

tells6 variantsdogs6 variantsgift6 variantsdinner6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "shut". Here's where to go from here.

  • "shut" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "su". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,738 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list