A shutout is when one team or player keeps their opponent from scoring any points at all during an entire game. When a soccer goalie blocks every shot and her team wins 3-0, she's earned a shutout. When a baseball pitcher and his teammates prevent the other team from scoring a single run, it's called pitching a shutout.

Getting a shutout requires excellent defense and often a bit of luck. The goalkeeper has to make every save, the defenders have to stop every attack, and nothing can slip through. In hockey, a goalie might face forty shots and stop them all for a shutout. In football, a defense might force fumbles, intercept passes, and tackle perfectly to shut out the other team.

The word captures something absolute: winning while keeping your opponent completely off the scoreboard. A 21-0 victory is more dominant than a 21-14 win because the losing team never scored at all. Athletes take special pride in shutouts because they represent total defensive mastery.

Outside of sports, people sometimes use shut out to describe being completely excluded, like feeling shut out of a conversation when everyone else knows something you don't.