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
shuttered; shuttering; shutters
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
Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 3 Apr. 2025
So if the Education Department shutters, these too would need to be managed by a different agency but wouldn't necessarily go away.
—Ivana Saric, Axios, 24 Mar. 2025
Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
The latest JCPenney closures, which were initially announced in February, come after more than 200 U.S. locations shuttered when the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutter
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Noun
Where to stay: The Château des Ducs de Joyeuse is a walled, late 16th-century castle; its 34 rooms have wooden shutters, stone walls, and medieval-style lamps.
—Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 3 Apr. 2025
So if the Education Department shutters, these too would need to be managed by a different agency but wouldn't necessarily go away.
—Ivana Saric, Axios, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
The administration effectively shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) using a similar maneuver.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
The latest JCPenney closures, which were initially announced in February, come after more than 200 U.S. locations shuttered when the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shutter
Cite this Entry
“Shutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shutter. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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