shut one's trap

verb

"shut-one-s-trap" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shut one's trap” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To stop talking; to be quiet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shut-one-s-trap · shut one's trap · English

shut one's trap · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for shut one's trap
PropertyValue
Headwordshut one's trap
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shut one's trap” in English

shut one's trapsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shut one's trap is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To stop talking; to be quiet.".

shut one's trap doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the slang use of trap in reference to a person's mouth. The correct English form is shut one's trap, spelled S-H-U-T- -O-N-E-'-S- -T-R-A-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To stop talking; to be quiet.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Why don't you just shut your trap? I'm tired of listening to you.

Etymology

From the slang use of trap in reference to a person's mouth.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shut one's trap"?
"shut one's trap" is spelled S-H-U-T- -O-N-E-'-S- -T-R-A-P.
What does "shut one's trap" mean?
As a verb, "shut one's trap" means: To stop talking; to be quiet.
What is the origin of the word "shut one's trap"?
From the slang use of trap in reference to a person's mouth. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list