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PlainSpell

shutter

shut·terUK /ˈʃʌtəː/noun, verb

shutter is spelled S-H-U-T-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (shut·ter). It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “shudder vs shutter” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, shutter means “One who shuts or closes something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shutter is shutters.

How many letters and syllables are in shutter?

Letters7: S-H-U-T-T-E-R
Syllables2: shut·ter
In writing3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is shutter?

Shutter appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce shutter?

  • UK /ˈʃʌtəː/
  • UK [ˈʃʰʌ̹tʰəː]
  • /ˈʃʌtɚ/

Shutter has 2 syllables, split shut·ter in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shutter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with shutter

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

shudder vs shutter880 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with shutter?

3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shutter from its last stressed vowel (/ʌtə/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of shutter

  • shutters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • shuttering participle, present
  • shuttered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shutter mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    One who shuts or closes something.

  2. 2

    Each of a series of protective panels, usually wooden, placed over windows to block out the light.

  3. 3

    A similar screen used as an improvised stretcher to carry someone wounded or sick.

  4. 4

    The part of a camera, normally closed, that opens for a controlled period of time to let light in when taking a picture.

  5. 5

    Any other opening and closing device.

  6. 6

    A panel used to contain freshly poured concrete, which is usually removed when the concrete hardens.

verb

  1. 1

    To close shutters covering.

    Shutter the windows: there's a storm coming!

  2. 2

    To close up (a building) for a prolonged period of inoccupancy.

    It took all day to shutter the cabin now that the season has ended.

  3. 3

    To cancel or terminate.

    The US is seeking to get Iran to shutter its nuclear weapons program.

  4. 4

    To rain heavily.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shutter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanVerschließender, Verschließer (one who shuts or closes), Fensterladen, Rollladen (protective panels over windows), Verschluss (part of a camera)
Frenchvolet, persienne, contrevent (protective panels over windows), obturateur (part of a camera)
Portugueseveneziana, postigo (protective panels over windows), obturador (part of a camera)
Spanishpostigo, contraventana, puertaventana (protective panels over windows), obturador (part of a camera)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does shutter come from?

From shut + -er. Compare shuttle.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after shutter