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shelf
[shelf]
noun
plural
shelvesa 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.
a sandbank or submerged extent of rock in the sea or river.
the bedrock underlying an alluvial deposit or the like.
Archery., the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.
shelf
/ ʃɛlf /
noun
a thin flat plank of wood, metal, etc, fixed horizontally against a wall, etc, for the purpose of supporting objects
something resembling this in shape or function
the objects placed on a shelf, regarded collectively
a shelf of books
a projecting layer of ice, rock, etc, on land or in the sea See also continental shelf
mining a layer of bedrock hit when sinking a shaft
archery the part of the hand on which an arrow rests when the bow is grasped
See off the shelf
put aside or abandoned: used esp of unmarried women considered to be past the age of marriage
verb
slang, (tr) to inform upon
shelf
Other Word Forms
- shelflike adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of shelf1
Word History and Origins
Origin of shelf1
Idioms and Phrases
off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock.
Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.
on the shelf,
put aside temporarily; postponed.
inactive; useless.
without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.
Example Sentences
Criminal hacks on Marks and Spencer, The Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover have led to empty shelves and production lines being halted this year as the companies struggled without their computer systems.
This issue is affecting the quality of life for consumers who are tired of witnessing theft or dealing with measures to stop it, such as locked-up shelves.
Nearby shopkeepers cleaned up broken glass and put merchandise back on shelves, AFP journalists saw.
Only four bottles of Asahi Super Dry beer are left on the shelves of Ben Thai, a cosy restaurant in the Tokyo suburb of Sengawacho.
In response, Canadians pulled California wines off store shelves, along with other American-made alcohol.
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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.
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