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
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
Vulture, 7 Mar. 2023
Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 25 July 2024
In that film, the famously chatty Deadpool had his mouth sewn shut in an utterly bizarre creative zag from his comic book origins.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 24 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for shut-in 
Noun
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
Adjective
When Darren Aronofsky’s film received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, star Brendan Fraser shot to the top of the Best Actor rankings for his performance as a 600-pound shut-in.
—Vulture, 7 Mar. 2023
Verb
Here’s why and when Rio City Cafe is shutting in Old Sacramento after closing river deck
Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento will serve its customers for the last time on Aug. 3 after 30 years in business.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 25 July 2024
In that film, the famously chatty Deadpool had his mouth sewn shut in an utterly bizarre creative zag from his comic book origins.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 24 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for shut-in
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shut-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 12 Sep. 2024.
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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