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shut up
verb
shut up; shutting up; shuts up
: to cause (a person) to stop talking
: to cease writing or speaking
Synonyms
Examples of shut up in a Sentence
you have no right to tell the rest of us to shut up
nothing I said would shut them up
Recent Examples on the Web
In other words, Anti-SLAPP laws prevent bad people from misusing the courts to shut up others who have done nothing more than lawfully express themselves.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
But the film cranks it to 10 when the actors shut up and the Crums focus on a warped visual vocabulary: analog video, gruesome special effects, taunting puppets and, most especially, Daryll Arellano’s skin-pinching sound.
—Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
There are people yelling at the other people to shut up.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
The Al Ittihad manager, former France player and manager Laurent Blanc, said nice things about Al Nassr but also had a gentle moan about having to shut up shop for a month while Saudi Arabia tries to win its first Arabian Gulf Cup for 20 years.
—Matt Slater, The Athletic, 14 Dec. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1814, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near shut up
Cite this Entry
“Shut up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shut%20up. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
shut up
verb1
: to cause a person to stop talking
2
: to stop writing or speaking
More from Merriam-Webster on shut up
Nglish: Translation of shut up for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of shut up for Arabic Speakers
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