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shelf

[ shelf ]
/ ʃɛlf /
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See synonyms for: shelf / shelves on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural shelves [shelvz]. /ʃɛlvz/.
a thin slab of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame, for supporting objects.
the contents of this: a shelf of books.
a surface or projection resembling this; ledge.
Physical Geography.
  1. a sandbank or submerged extent of rock in the sea or river.
  2. the bedrock underlying an alluvial deposit or the like.
  3. continental shelf.
Archery. the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.
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Idioms about shelf

    off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock: Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.
    on the shelf, Informal.
    1. put aside temporarily; postponed.
    2. inactive; useless.
    3. without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.

Origin of shelf

1350–1400; Middle English; Old English scylfe; akin to Low German schelf shelf, Old Norse -skjalf bench

OTHER WORDS FROM shelf

shelflike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shelf in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shelf

shelf
/ (ʃɛlf) /

noun plural shelves (ʃɛlvz)
verb
(tr) Australian slang to inform upon

Derived forms of shelf

shelflike, adjective

Word Origin for shelf

Old English scylfe ship's deck; related to Middle Low German schelf shelf, Old English scylf crag
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for shelf

shelf
[ shĕlf ]

See continental shelf.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with shelf

shelf

see off the shelf; on the shelf.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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