1
: a person who is confined to home, a room, or bed because of illness or incapacity
2
: a narrow gorge-shaped part of an otherwise wide valley
3
: available oil or gas which is not being produced from an existing well
shut in; shutting in; shuts in
2
: to prevent production of (oil or gas) by closing down a well
Examples of shut-in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Neha Ruch, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
The filmmaker hatched the project before the COVID-19 pandemic, but somehow failed to consider that audiences have had their fill of claustrophobic shut-in stories.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Arlo, though, is absent and presumed dead, and Naoise’s mom (Simone Kirby) has become a shut-in.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2024
Solomon wants Fizz to be a place for an online meet-cute or where frat boys and dorm shut-ins find common ground through the sale of a used textbook—an oasis for community that is as functional as it is feel-good.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 20 July 2024
These are among the least bellicose films A24 has ever released: dramas about sensitive oily-cake salesmen, frustrated ceramicists, lonely shut-ins, and boys who love horses.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2024
Who, besides incels and shut-ins, wants to spend all day talking to chatbots?
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 9 May 2024
For many, many years by then, my mother had lived mostly as a shut-in, able to walk but very unsteadily; my father used their home’s three front porch steps to keep her indoors.
—Sarah Stankorb, Longreads, 9 May 2024
With his zeal for Jesus sweaters and his living-room church organ, Bernie plays the bumbling househusband to his successful businesswoman wife Eva (Alicia Silverstone), and father to his diligent scientist son Adam (Walt Klink) and moody shut-in daughter Sarah (Gaite Jansen).
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
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Noun
The shut-in tropes of the stay-at-home parent no longer apply—these women are neither disconnected nor stagnant.
—Neha Ruch, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
The filmmaker hatched the project before the COVID-19 pandemic, but somehow failed to consider that audiences have had their fill of claustrophobic shut-in stories.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Arlo, though, is absent and presumed dead, and Naoise’s mom (Simone Kirby) has become a shut-in.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2024
Solomon wants Fizz to be a place for an online meet-cute or where frat boys and dorm shut-ins find common ground through the sale of a used textbook—an oasis for community that is as functional as it is feel-good.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 20 July 2024
These are among the least bellicose films A24 has ever released: dramas about sensitive oily-cake salesmen, frustrated ceramicists, lonely shut-ins, and boys who love horses.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2024
Who, besides incels and shut-ins, wants to spend all day talking to chatbots?
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 9 May 2024
For many, many years by then, my mother had lived mostly as a shut-in, able to walk but very unsteadily; my father used their home’s three front porch steps to keep her indoors.
—Sarah Stankorb, Longreads, 9 May 2024
With his zeal for Jesus sweaters and his living-room church organ, Bernie plays the bumbling househusband to his successful businesswoman wife Eva (Alicia Silverstone), and father to his diligent scientist son Adam (Walt Klink) and moody shut-in daughter Sarah (Gaite Jansen).
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near shut-in
Cite this Entry
“Shut-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shut-in. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
shut-in
1 of 2 noun
: a person who is confined to home, a room, or bed because of illness or incapacity
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