to shut one's mouth
4
4.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
cerrar la boca
- She knew the secret was important, so she chose to shut her mouth about it.
- just shut one's mouth
- then shut one's mouth
Examples
-
Now shut your mouth and give your money to Koko.
-
Shut your mouth and quit being a freak!
-
- Maybe you should shut your mouth.
-
You need to learn to shut your mouth.
-
I said shut your mouth!
-
- Shut your mouth and do it.
-
I asked again, but she just shut her mouth, Pam, and looked far away.
Fiction book (1996) -
One would think Carter would have the sense to shut his mouth after his epic repudiation by the American public.
Blog text (17) -
You're not suggesting that Cain needs to just shut his mouth, are you?
Blog text (23) -
Dad answers in a mutter, then looks in my direction and shuts his mouth instantly.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
∞
4.1
Tell someone to be quiet in a rude or angry way
231
1.0
To stop making noise or talking
116
5.6
To say nothing to avoid trouble or keep a secret
108
4.2
Keep yourself from showing feelings or telling others
90
2.5
To say nothing or not tell a secret
35
7.1
To become quiet or tell someone to stop making noise
33
3.4
Make a person or thing quiet so others stop making noise
10
4.8
To stop talking and say nothing
5
8.2
Keep quiet about a secret
3
7.1
To stop talking suddenly and not answer questions
3
5.4
To stay silent to avoid saying something rude
3
7.5
Stay quiet about something private
2
5.0
Make someone stop talking and be quiet
1
6.1
Stop yourself from saying something you want to say because it would be rude
1
9.9
To stay silent on purpose to avoid trouble
Not say anything or tell other people
To keep quiet and not tell others about something
To keep quiet on purpose and not tell others
To tell someone rudely to be quiet
To tell someone to stop talking and be quiet
Tells someone to be quiet in a rude way
Antonyms
How Forceful
- Offensive
- Offensive
∞
4.1
- Informal
4
4.4
231
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to stop talking' is directly and literally derived from combining 'shut' (to close) with 'one's mouth' (the speech organ of a person), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the intended sense. This is a common, cross-linguistic compositional construction (imperative to be quiet) rather than a figurative idiom, making it transparent.
Etymology
The phrase shut one's mouth comes from the simple image of someone shutting their mouth so no words can get out. That's why it now means 'to stop talking' or 'to keep a secret'.