No confusion here, I understood from the beginning they were two different things. 
I knew my ignorance of the subject would otherwise prohibit my asking clearly, though.
So, I apparently work with a noise gate filter in Action, and just need to know if something similar can be achieved in ShotCut, by using any combination of filters (the noise gate filter as it is titled in Shotcut seems to work on a different principal). I don’t mind it being a bit of a process to set up, as I save a template file with all of channels and filters set up and work from that as a basis with each video I edit. But again, just for clarity, it is the noise gate that I need, as you explained it – something that works with dB.
I need to keep from recording the dog barking, so to speak. Audacity is as usual just not an option.
If the answer is “no” or even “not sure” I can accept that. I might be able to find more information from the MLT documentation, and perhaps make my own filter. That would be an educational challenge.