shut up
/ʃʌt ʌp/
"shut-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shut up” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To close (a building) so that no one can enter.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shut up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ʃʌt ʌp/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shut up” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for shut up is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʃʌt ʌp/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
shut up has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is shut up, spelled S-H-U-T- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To close (a building) so that no one can enter.
- 2To terminate (a business).
- 3To put (someone or something) in a secure enclosed space, such as a room or container.
- 4Of a person, to stop talking (said by someone, often one in authority, after one has said something annoying, irrelevant, or false, during a period of peace and quiet, or when one is not allowed to talk) or arguing, or (of a person or thing) making noise.
- 5To murder, kill.
This word in other languages
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 up"?
What does "shut up" mean?
How do you pronounce "shut up"?
What language does "shut up" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “shut up”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-H-U-T- -U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ʃʌt ʌp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.