1. The time of day when poultry are shut up in their coop; dusk or twilight.
Usage: archaic; chiefly British
2. A game played at twilight in which a stick or cudgel is thrown at a target.
Usage: archaic; historical

Examples

• The farmers returned home at cockshuts to prepare the evening meal.
• Children played cockshuts in the fading light before supper.
• The old word 'cockshuts' referred to the time when roosters were locked away for the night.
• In medieval times, cockshuts was a popular pastime among village youth.
• The market closed at cockshuts, when darkness began to fall.