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shelf definition

shelf (s̸helf)

noun pl. shelves

  1. a thin, flat length of wood or other material fixed horizontally at right angles to a wall and used for holding things
  2. a similar support, usually one of a set, built into a frame, as in a bookcase or cupboard
  3. the contents or capacity of a shelf
  4. something like a shelf; specif.,
    1. a flat ledge jutting out from a cliff
    2. a sandbar or sandy reef
  5. a layer of bedrock, as under deposits of soil or gravel

Etymology: ME, prob. < MLowG schelf, akin to OE scylf, shelf, ledge < IE *skelp < base *(s)kel-, to cut > half

Related Forms:

shelf Idioms

on the shelf

out of use, activity, or circulation

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms shelf idiom

shelf Synonyms

shelf

n.

  1. A ledge

    shoal, shallow, rock, reef, mantle, sandbank; see also ledge, ridge 2.

  2. A cupboard rack

    counter, cupboard, mantelpiece, rack.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

shelf Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • slat: A key feature of this trolley is the large slatted bottom shelf.

Adjective modifier

  • continental: PHYSICAL FEATURES The islands lie on the shallow continental shelf off the south-eastern coast of New Zealand.

Modifies a noun

  • stacker: He has also worked as a shelf stacker, disk jockey and lathe operator.

Noun used with modifier

  • parcel: I assume the blind is incorporated into the rear parcel shelf, in which case it could get a bit expensive.
shelf usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

shelf quotes

I cannot live withYouö It would be Lifeö And Life is over thereö Behind the Shelf.

-Dickinson, Emily Elizabeth

If only to be born were being invented Merely, or, better still, to concoct oneself From an antique alembic, a receipt. How splendid To take the phial cleanly from its shelf; Powders and liquids, all one's favourite hues Making the being one would be, the looker at stars Or storks on the spires of Denmark, drinker of dews, Or an eye simply.

-Doyle, Charles (Mike)

Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as earlyas you can, And don't have any kids yourself.

-Larkin, Philip Arthur

shelf quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"shelf." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/shelf>

APA Style

shelf. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/shelf

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