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:
An evacuation shelter was opened at Carmel Middle School on Monday evening, and regional hotels are offering discounted rates to evacuees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Children and medical staff were not harmed, as they were in a shelter at the time of the attack," the ministry said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
It also maintains a shelter for families in South Los Angeles and a women’s sanctuary in Sylmar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The property is known for its priest holes and secret hiding places, which were used to shelter persecuted Catholics during the 1590s.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
He went off to the nearest shelter, and returned with an ashwood spear tipped with a vicious basalt point, and what seemed to be a length of triple-thickness reindeer hide.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Netting and wire meshes around infrastructure can be useful against drones, and hardened shelters can help protect resources that have to be on the surface, such as aircraft, fuel, personnel and equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
But the appeals court noted that the existing injunction specifically allows construction of underground bunkers, bomb shelters and military and medical infrastructure to continue, along with aboveground work strictly necessary for security.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Blair said shelters closed their doors because the facilities were deemed nonessential, and as a result, many animals were not spayed and neutered and many were left on the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
However, the UN said about 360,000 other people remained displaced across Lebanon, including 26,000 living in government shelters.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
To get lost among endless tents and makeshift shelters as you try to find your way home.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
This year, its 638 beds became part of a jigsaw puzzle of new beds and vacancies that added up to Skid Row’s increase of 614 sheltered residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Another of the rare adults among the migrants camped out in the complex, a woman of 45, sheltered nearby, her face burned red by the sun.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
It feels sheltered, like sitting inside a very tall greenhouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
By pulling these animals out of their sheltered habitats and keeping them moving in circles, streetlights may leave them vulnerable to predators while also wasting energy needed for survival.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
The spare garage is sheltered, even on blowy days like today.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
The city and county secured $1.6 million for emergency housing relocation through Airbnb and housing nonprofits, sheltering more than 1,300 residents and hundreds of pets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Woolford's cows still come out into the fields in the morning, but by midday they are back in the barns, sheltering from the sun and eating feedstocks that should have been saved for the winter.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Rather, it was accompaniment: feeding, sheltering, driving, watching, and warning so no one had to move in isolation.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in surrounding areas, but Bordeaux's mayor said there were no plans to evacuate the urban area, home to 850,000 people and currently sheltering thousands evacuated from zones close by.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
When he returned to Japan, he was charged with sheltering a political fugitive and arrested again.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
