on the shelf
Idioms-
Inactive, not employed, as in With mandatory retirement at 65, many useful employees are put on the shelf . [Second half of 1500s]
-
In a state of disuse, as in We'll have to put her proposal on the shelf until we have more funds . [Late 1800s]
-
Without prospects of marriage. For example, After she broke her third engagement, her parents were sure she'd be on the shelf . This usage is always said of a woman and today considered offensive. It is probably obsolescent. [Early 1800s] All these usages allude to an article left on the shelf of a store, bookcase, or the like.
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.
A hole that size could make any executive lose their head, march into the store, and grab the most expensive thing on the shelf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Delta had only a handful of price categories on the shelf.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Given how fragile it was, it may simply have disintegrated on the shelf and been overlooked or thrown away.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
At the time, the focus of the label was on freshness or how long a food product had been sitting on the shelf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
A group of teenagers swarms the My Crush Wants to Go Out with Me counter and don’t leave a single bottle on the shelf.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
