shutter

1 of 2

noun

shut·​ter ˈshə-tər 

1

: one that shuts

2

: a usually movable cover or screen for a window or door

3

: a mechanical device that limits the passage of light

especially : a camera component that allows light to enter by opening and closing an aperture

4

: the movable louvers in a pipe organ by which the swell box is opened

shutterless

ˈshə-tər-ləs 

adjective

shutter

2 of 2

verb

shuttered; shuttering; shutters

transitive verb

1

: to close by or as if by shutters

corporations shuttering their production plants

2

: to furnish with shutters

Examples of shutter in a Sentence

Verb

They locked the doors and shuttered the windows.

They declared bankruptcy and shuttered the store.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But with tensions in the Persian Gulf and limited ability to work around Hormuz, the country is having to find other routes to prevent refineries from running out of storage space and being forced to shutter. — Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 18 July 2026

Its image quality isn't identical, however, as the R6 V's fully electronic shutter restricts Raw images to 12-bit quality, versus 14-bit for the EOS R6 Mark III. — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026

Verb

All of that came just a few years after the university shuttered its law school, and as the university was mired in a national controversy over the sale of cornerstone artwork from its campus museum to fund dorm renovations for first-year students. — Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026

It was replaced briefly by Quad Side Tavern, which appears to have quietly shuttered sometime after the spring semester ended. — Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1826, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shutter

• butter
• clutter
• cutter
• flutter
• gutter
• mutter
• nutter
• putter
• rutter
• sputter
• stutter
• utter

Kids Definition

shutter

1 of 2 noun

shut·​ter ˈshət-ər 

1

: a movable cover for a window that swings on hinges like a door

2

: a device in a camera that opens to allow light to enter when a picture is taken

shutter

2 of 2 verb

: to close with or by shutters

kept the house shuttered