bomb shelter

American  

noun

1. a room or area, usually underground, especially reinforced against the effects of bombs, used as a shelter during an air raid.

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Etymology

Origin of bomb shelter

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert read the message just before sirens warning of an Iranian missile threat went off in central Israel and sent him into his home’s bomb shelter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

In a public bomb shelter two storeys underground, one woman lay sleeping on a bunk bed in the mid-afternoon, while another worked at their laptop.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

On Monday she relocated to the home of a teammate because she said the bomb shelter she had been using was tiny.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

He then proceeded to gut the architectural gem, with reports at the time suggesting that he wanted to turn the concrete structure into a kind of modernist bomb shelter.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 11, 2025

The news stories always put me right back into my pity pot, though, showing me again and again that I needed a bomb shelter.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals