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
James Powel, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
Stéphane expertly managed to create this sense of restriction by only allowing slithers of natural light through the closed shutters on the windows, creating a cage-like gobo.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2025
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2025
On Thursday, two different federal judges temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to shutter USAID.
—Chris Arnold, NPR, 15 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for shutter 
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Noun
The software can cause an error in the low power controller that makes the headlight shutters close over the high and low beams while driving.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
Stéphane expertly managed to create this sense of restriction by only allowing slithers of natural light through the closed shutters on the windows, creating a cage-like gobo.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2025
Verb
In short order, the Trump Administration has shuttered the headquarters of the agency, halted most of its operations, and laid off some of its staff.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2025
On Thursday, two different federal judges temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to shutter USAID.
—Chris Arnold, NPR, 15 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for shutter
Dictionary Entries Near shutter
Cite this Entry
“Shutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shutter. Accessed 21 Feb. 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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