Definition

1. Noun:

   • A hinged cover or screen for a window: A "shutter" is a solid, often wooden, cover that can be opened and closed on the outside of a window to block light, provide security, or protect against weather.
   • A camera mechanism: In photography, a "shutter" is the device inside a camera that opens and closes very quickly to control the duration of time that light hits the film or digital sensor, creating an exposure.

2. Verb:

   • To close or furnish with shutters: The action of closing window shutters or installing them on a building.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The old house had beautiful green wooden shutters on every window.
  • A fast shutter speed is needed to freeze the motion of a racing car.

• Verb:

  • We shuttered all the windows before the hurricane arrived.
  • The historic building was carefully shuttered for the winter.

Advanced Usage

• "to put up the shutters" (idiom): To close a business permanently or stop an activity.

  • After fifty years, the family decided to put up the shutters on the grocery store.

• "shutter speed" (photography term): The length of time a camera's shutter is open during an exposure.

  • For night photography, you often need a slow shutter speed.

Variants and Related Words

• Shuttered (adj.): Fitted with or closed by shutters.
  • The shuttered cottage looked deserted.

Synonyms

• Noun (window): Blind, screen, cover.
• Noun (camera): Diaphragm, exposure mechanism.
• Verb: Close up, seal, cover.

Related Phrases

• Roller shutter: A type of shutter made of horizontal slats that roll up, often used for garage doors or storefronts.
• Shutter release: The button on a camera that you press to open the shutter and take a picture.
  • Gently press the shutter release to avoid camera shake.

Noun

1. a hinged blind for a window
2. a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure

Verb

1. close with shutters
   • We shuttered the window to keep the house cool