shut up shop
idiom
British
: to go out of business forever or to stop performing all services or activities for a period of time
Rather than shutting up shop entirely, the company laid off half of its workers.
The store has already shut up shop for the day.
Examples of shut up shop in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Online fast fashion outlet Shein got a big break during the pandemic as its competitors were hampered by bricks-and-mortar stores which were forced to shut up shop.
—
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2023
The crackdown has forced some outlets to shut up shop and their journalists to leave the country.
—CNN, 21 June 2022
In a handful of cases, franchisees were forced to shut up shop for good, often following difficult conversations with their landlords.
—David Prosser, Forbes, 17 May 2022
But residents there and elsewhere shouldn’t expect others to shut up shop any time soon.
—Chris Stokel-Walker, Wired, 11 Nov. 2021
Chinese authorities banned the activity earlier this year causing miners to shut up shop or move overseas.
—NBC News, 13 Oct. 2021
While some proprietors are finally embracing the need to get creative with pricing, there are others who would rather shut up shop than force their regulars to swallow a more expensive bowl of ramen.
—Toru Fujioka, Bloomberg.com, 11 Nov. 2020
Ahead of that announcement, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak revealed on Friday details of a new financial support package that will see the government pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that have to shut up shop.
—Pan Pylas, Star Tribune, 10 Oct. 2020
In March, as parts of America and Europe shut up shop, some 2.5bn customers are reckoned to have visited Amazon’s website, a 65% increase on last year.
—The Economist, 22 June 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2023
The crackdown has forced some outlets to shut up shop and their journalists to leave the country.
—CNN, 21 June 2022
In a handful of cases, franchisees were forced to shut up shop for good, often following difficult conversations with their landlords.
—David Prosser, Forbes, 17 May 2022
But residents there and elsewhere shouldn’t expect others to shut up shop any time soon.
—Chris Stokel-Walker, Wired, 11 Nov. 2021
Chinese authorities banned the activity earlier this year causing miners to shut up shop or move overseas.
—NBC News, 13 Oct. 2021
While some proprietors are finally embracing the need to get creative with pricing, there are others who would rather shut up shop than force their regulars to swallow a more expensive bowl of ramen.
—Toru Fujioka, Bloomberg.com, 11 Nov. 2020
Ahead of that announcement, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak revealed on Friday details of a new financial support package that will see the government pay two thirds of the salaries of workers in companies that have to shut up shop.
—Pan Pylas, Star Tribune, 10 Oct. 2020
In March, as parts of America and Europe shut up shop, some 2.5bn customers are reckoned to have visited Amazon’s website, a 65% increase on last year.
—The Economist, 22 June 2020
Dictionary Entries Near shut up shop
Cite this Entry
“Shut up shop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shut%20up%20shop. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share