shelf
Americannoun
plural
shelves-
a thin slab of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame, for supporting objects.
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the contents of this.
a shelf of books.
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a surface or projection resembling this; ledge.
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Physical Geography.
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a sandbank or submerged extent of rock in the sea or river.
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the bedrock underlying an alluvial deposit or the like.
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Archery. the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.
idioms
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off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock.
Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.
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on the shelf,
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put aside temporarily; postponed.
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inactive; useless.
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without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.
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noun
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a thin flat plank of wood, metal, etc, fixed horizontally against a wall, etc, for the purpose of supporting objects
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something resembling this in shape or function
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the objects placed on a shelf, regarded collectively
a shelf of books
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a projecting layer of ice, rock, etc, on land or in the sea See also continental shelf
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mining a layer of bedrock hit when sinking a shaft
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archery the part of the hand on which an arrow rests when the bow is grasped
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See off the shelf
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put aside or abandoned: used esp of unmarried women considered to be past the age of marriage
verb
Other Word Forms
- shelflike adjective
Etymology
Origin of shelf
1350–1400; Middle English; Old English scylfe; akin to Low German schelf shelf, Old Norse -skjalf bench
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In addition, much of that iron appears to come from a different form of meltwater than the kind produced directly by melting ice shelves.
From Science Daily
Retailers are adjusting the products on their shelves at the same time that food manufacturers are rethinking their ingredients.
From BBC
Records line most of the walls and shelves, drinks are served on vinyl-shaped coasters and tables and light fixtures are designed to the theme.
From Los Angeles Times
They were investigating why sea ice detached from a glacier years after a nearby ice shelf broke apart in 2002.
From Science Daily
Today’s winners need to figure out how to market and price products that fly off the dollar-store shelves while also enticing higher-income shoppers.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
