shut-in

/ˈʃʌtˌɪn/

adjective

Confined to a location, as by infirmity or illness.

“He visited shut-ins as a good deed.”

Similar
introvertishintroversiveintrovertivehomeboundhouseboundconfinedinvalid
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Meanings

adjectiveshut-in (not comparable)
  1. not comparableConfined to a location, as by infirmity or illness.
nounshut-in (plural shut-ins)

plural shut-ins

  1. A person confined to a location, as by illness or infirmity.

    He visited shut-ins as a good deed.

  2. A narrow river gorge confined by resistant rock layers; a type of rock formation in which a stream is confined to a narrow bed of resistant stone.

    A shut-in is a geological feature similar to a gorge that “shuts-in” the river.

    2024 January 16 (last accessed), Missouri Department of Natural Resources, “Swimming at Johnson's Shut-ins State Park”, in Missouri State Parks, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2024

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivesomewhat introverted

Similar
introvertishintroversiveintrovertive

adjectiveconfined usually by illness

Similar
homeboundhouseboundconfined

nounsomeone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury

Similar
invalid
Broader
sick persondiseased personsufferer
Also see
confinedhermithomeboundhouseboundintroversiveintrovertishintrovertiveinvalidlonerreclusesolitarysullen

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Deverbal from shut in.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish zamknięty, odludek
  • zamkniętyadjective
  • odludekperson
Spanish enclaustrado, ermitaño
  • enclaustradoadjective
  • ermitañoadjective
  • enclaustradoperson
  • confinadoperson
Cite this entry
APA

shut-in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shut-in

MLA

“shut-in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shut-in. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shut-in,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shut-in.

Source: shut-in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.