noun
pl. shelves- a thin, flat length of wood, metal, etc. fixed horizontally at right angles to a wall and used for holding things
- a similar support, usually one of a set, built into a frame, as in a bookcase or cupboard
- the contents or capacity of a shelf
- something like a shelf; specif.,
- a flat ledge jutting out from a cliff
- a sandbar or sandy reef
- a layer of bedrock, as under deposits of soil or gravel
Origin of shelf
ME, probably from Middle Low German schelf, akin to Old English scylf, shelf, ledge from Indo-European an unverified form skelp from base an unverified form (s)kel-, to cut from source halfshelf Idioms
on the shelf
out of use, activity, or circulation
