to shut out
- phrasal verb
- /ʃʌt aʊt/
- I'll shut out the noise.
- shut out people
- feel shut out
- shut out the world
We were saying, eh, you can't shut us out of adult life.
- We were saying, eh, you can't shut us out of adult life.
- Go and write his book, get famous, do some movies, be entertaining and try and shut that out of his life.
- We have children that are unique and to be shut out from the discussion is a red flag.
- Foreign companies complain that they're facing greater and greater obstacles to accessing the Chinese market, which they were mostly shut out of already.
- And I would try to kind of shut out the panic and make the volume of the good things louder in my head.
- So the philosophy of if I just shut out how I feel about things, then I won't experience pain if I don't attach to anything.
Examples
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If that falls into the wrong hands, they could shut us out for good.
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Foreign companies complain that they're facing greater and greater obstacles to accessing the Chinese market, which they were mostly shut out of already.
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My sister has just... totally shut me out.
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Yeah, see, why did you shut me out in the first place?
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If you have pets, shut them out of your work area until you are done.
Academic text (1998) -
And I would try to kind of shut out the panic and make the volume of the good things louder in my head.
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But Jane and Joe feel turned off, shut out, and left to flounder in the dark.
Academic text (1996) -
Virtually everywhere, blacks were deliberately shut out of the modern sector of the economy.
Academic text (1992) -
At one point, Germain closes the window, shutting out the sounds of the children.
Academic text (1998) -
My sister has just totally shut out anyone who wants to help her.
Synonyms
To shut something so it is not open
To officially stop someone from doing something by law or rule
To keep someone or something out so they are not part of something
To stop people or things from entering a place
Make someone not allowed to take part because they broke the rules
Refuse someone entry to a place or group
To stop someone from entering a building or using an account
Stop people from entering or leaving an area by blocking it
Stop people or vehicles from entering a place
Close a road, path or entrance so people cannot go through
To stop light, sound, or air from coming in
To hide information so people cannot see it
Prevent someone or somewhere from having contact with others
To check and remove people or things that are not wanted
To keep someone out of a group by being unfriendly or unfair
Prevent a chance or option from being used
To stop an idea or plan from happening by rejecting it
To officially stop someone from entering, taking part, or holding a position
To block a place so people cannot enter, often by putting up a fence
Antonyms
How Exclusive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to prevent someone or something from entering or being included' is directly and predictably built from 'shut' (to close) + 'out' (to exclude). This verb+particle composition follows a common English pattern where 'out' signals exclusion, which is cross-linguistically obvious, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb shut out comes from the simple image of closing a door or window so something stays out; you shut it to keep the world outside. So, it means 'to stop someone or something from coming in or being included'.