shelf

American  

[shelf] / ʃɛlf /

noun

plural

shelves

1. a thin slab of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame, for supporting objects.

2. the contents of this.

   a shelf of books.

3. a surface or projection resembling this; ledge.

4. 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.

5. Archery. the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.

---

idioms

1. off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock.

   Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.

2. on the shelf,

   1. put aside temporarily; postponed.

   2. inactive; useless.

   3. without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.

shelf British  

/ ʃɛlf /

noun

1. a thin flat plank of wood, metal, etc, fixed horizontally against a wall, etc, for the purpose of supporting objects

2. something resembling this in shape or function

3. the objects placed on a shelf, regarded collectively

   a shelf of books

4. a projecting layer of ice, rock, etc, on land or in the sea See also continental shelf

5. mining a layer of bedrock hit when sinking a shaft

6. archery the part of the hand on which an arrow rests when the bow is grasped

7. See off the shelf

8. put aside or abandoned: used esp of unmarried women considered to be past the age of marriage

---

verb

1. slang (tr) to inform upon

shelf Scientific  

/ shĕlf /

1. See continental shelf

---

shelf More Idioms  

1. see off the shelf; on the shelf.

---

Other Word Forms

• shelflike adjective

Etymology

Origin of shelf

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

Example Sentences

While near-term volumes have been soft, he believes promotional deals and continued shelf gains could help the company grow over the next one to two years.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Turns out that Pynchon’s perennially Nobel-touted shelf offers a book for each book club category featured in this year’s L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

A rom-com need not be a sparkling shelf covered with bon-bons, but it shouldn’t be a nauseating cloud of carbon monoxide that makes you want to flee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

That led to a fundraising campaign raising money for charity - but with a shorter shelf life, the Orkney banana glut required a swifter solution.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

He went right to his narrow twin bed, fished out The Way to Rio Luna from under the covers, and hid it on a dusty shelf in the garage.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• counter
• cupboard
• ledge
• rack