shut

verb

The verdict

“shut” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #41,005 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#41,005
frequency rank, French
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Refermer, fermer ce qui était ouvert, fermer.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

shut vs st
50% similar
shut vs su
50% similar
shut vs sur
50% similar

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

Key facts for shut
PropertyValue
Headwordshut
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
Letters4
Frequency rank#41,005
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shut” sits in French 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). shut lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for shut is 4 letters long, classified as a verb. Corpus data places it at rank #41,005 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Refermer, fermer ce qui était ouvert, fermer.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for shut, with forms such as "hsut", "shhut", and "shtu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "st", "su", "sur", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is shut, spelled S-H-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Refermer, fermer ce qui était ouvert, fermer.

Synonyms

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 - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

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 French 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.
What does "shut" mean?
As a verb, "shut" means: Refermer, fermer ce qui était ouvert, fermer.
What words are commonly confused with "shut"?
"shut" is commonly confused with "st", "su", "sur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "shut" come from?
"shut" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “shut”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is S-H-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “st” - see the side-by-side comparison. shut vs st
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list