shelter
Americannoun
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shelters
plural
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something beneath, behind, or within which a person, animal, or thing is protected from storms, missiles, adverse conditions, etc.; refuge.
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the protection or refuge afforded by such a thing.
He took shelter in a nearby barn.
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protection from blame, incrimination, etc.
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a dwelling place or home considered as a refuge from the elements.
Everyone's basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter.
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a building serving as a temporary refuge or residence for abandoned animals, people who are homeless, etc.: animal shelter.
homeless shelter;
animal shelter.
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Finance. tax shelter.
verb (used with object)
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shelters,
present (3rd person singular)
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sheltered,
past participle, past
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sheltering
present participle
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to be a shelter for; afford shelter to.
The old barn sheltered him from the rain.
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to provide with a shelter; place under cover.
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to protect, as by shelter; take under one's protection.
Parents should not try to shelter their children from normal childhood disappointments.
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Finance. to invest (money) in a tax shelter.
verb (used without object)
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shelters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sheltered,
past participle, past
-
sheltering
present participle
-
to take shelter; find a refuge.
Students sheltered in the gymnasium when they heard the tornado sirens.
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Finance. to invest money in a tax shelter.
noun
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something that provides cover or protection, as from weather or danger; place of refuge
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the protection afforded by such a cover; refuge
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the state of being sheltered
verb
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(tr) to provide with or protect by a shelter
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(intr) to take cover, as from rain; find refuge
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(tr) to act as a shelter for; take under one's protection
Synonym Usage
See cover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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self-shelternoun
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shelterernoun
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shelterlessnessnoun
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shelterlessadjective
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unshelteringadjective
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shelteringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sheltersimple
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shelterssimple
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have shelteredperfect
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has shelteredperfect
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am shelteringprogressive
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are shelteringprogressive
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is shelteringprogressive
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have been shelteringperfect progressive
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has been shelteringperfect progressive
Past
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shelteredsimple
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had shelteredperfect
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was shelteringprogressive
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were shelteringprogressive
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had been shelteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shelter
First recorded in 1575–85; of uncertain origin; perhaps alteration of obsolete sheltron “testudo” (a protective vault formed of Roman legionaries' shields), Old English scieldtruma, equivalent to scield + truma “body of men in battle formation”; see origin at shield ( def. ), trim
Explanation
Shelter is one of the basic human needs along with food, water, and companionship. It is a structure that protects you from the elements and gives you a place to live. If you get lost in the woods during a rain storm, the first thing you should do is seek shelter, or a protected place to stay. A shelter is also a place to go for help, e.g. a homeless shelter is for those with nowhere to sleep, a bomb shelter protects people in a war zone and an animal shelter houses dogs and cats without a home. You've probably heard people talking about tax shelters, which are investments that protect your money from being taxed by the government.
Vocabulary lists containing shelter
There's No Word Like Home
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Beowulf vocabulary
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The Syrian Refugee Crisis Continues
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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.
See Examples For:
Residents in Lithuania's capital Vilnius were also forced to take shelter in May after a drone alert was triggered, briefly grounding flights and rail travel.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Large areas close to Yellowstone remain evacuated, while across the US, shelter, fuel, food and clean water become increasingly scarce.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
He enlisted the Rev. Wayne “Chris” Hartmire Jr., an old friend from his UFW days to stage a nonviolent fast to pressure county officials to act on a homeless shelter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
A clergyman I met at Reagan National Airport recently told me that our world is as filled with corruption as a Latin American animal shelter is filled with fleas.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Gelifen was meant to grow large enough to shelter them under his wings in the rain.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Homelessness providers like shelters fear running out of cash if they can’t get executed contracts for federal funds, amid a fight between HUD and LAHSA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
At least three aircraft hangars or shelters appear to have been damaged at the Royal Saudi Air Force facility where US-made F-15 fighter jets are based.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
A further 60 schools were converted into shelters for thousands of people left homeless by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Fostering even for a night or two alleviates that crunch for space, allowing shelters to host cats they might not otherwise be able to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Okay, the first thing I’m going to do is give all of the local animal shelters a call,” John says from the other end of the line.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
The home’s porte cochère once sheltered her Volkswagen after trips to the market.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
According to the Texas Tribune, Garces Perez asked if he could park somewhere sheltered from traffic.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Attending film school on the East Coast was, as she puts it, a necessary experience, because she grew up rather sheltered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
A one-star hotel sheltered an entire bike race.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
They were somewhat sheltered by the forest’s canopy of leaves, but the day grew warmer by the quarter hour.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
It also found that moving and sheltering the most vulnerable — children in foster care, incarcerated youth and adults, people with disabilities — “lacked a countywide coordination model.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
He said they were now sheltering in a school that is being used as a refuge for those who survived.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
It also provided the Yemeni militants with intelligence, target lists including Saudi ports and energy facilities, and advice on sheltering from Saudi retaliation, the officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
More than 300 relief camps have been set up in the state, sheltering over 10,000 people, after rains triggered landslides and swollen rivers breached their banks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The crowd of sheltering refugees was gone now; the station nearly deserted.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
