shut up

verb

shut up; shutting up; shuts up

transitive verb

: to cause (a person) to stop talking

intransitive verb

: to cease writing or speaking

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 The White House hopes to capitalize on Republicans’ disarray, in effect calling their bluff and daring them to put up or shut up, although the hard-liners in the G.O.P. conference are unlikely to choose either option. Peter Baker, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Be beautiful and shut up: That was the job of a model. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 The idea that this famously corrupt post-Soviet republic could have posed as a democracy was cute on its face, of course — shut up and fly your blue-and-yellow flag. Ted Rall, Orange County Register, 27 Jan. 2024 Of course the two unabashedly confident and outspoken Black athletes who have been told numerous times by society to shut up and dribble − and rolled their eyes at the suggestion − would find each other. USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 May the huge majority of fans, who are good people, stand up to shut up all the racists once and for all! Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024 It’s put up or shut up time for dozens of cities across the San Francisco Bay Area. Ben Christopher, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024 Commentary and opinions Michael Hiltzik: Will billionaire Bill Ackman ever learn to shut up? Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2024 The pair crossed paths 15 years ago at Venice Film Festival, but only started working together in a fashion capacity in December, when Clark was heading to Canada for Christmas and the fashion industry had shut up shop for the holidays. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shut up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of shut up was in 1814

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 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shut up

verb
1
: to cause a person to stop talking
2
: to stop writing or speaking

More from Merriam-Webster on shut up

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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