- plural of shelf.
shelves
Americannoun
noun
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.
The UK also relies on a network of underwater gas pipelines, primarily in the North Sea, which provides essential energy from the UK and Norwegian Continental Shelves.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Shelves along the wall are lined with hundreds of little bottles of essential oils and aroma chemicals.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2025
Shelves tend to go up against the wall anyway, and building them in makes them more stable and saves space.
From Seattle Times • May 9, 2024
Shelves of books snake through a dark library “in a disorderly line, not unlike intestines.”
From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2023
Shelves rose forty feet under an astonishing painted ceiling, and the spines of books glowed in jewel-toned leather, their gold leaf shining in the glavelight like animal eyes.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
