shelter
Americannoun
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shelters
plural
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something beneath, behind, or within which a person, animal, or thing is protected from storms, missiles, adverse conditions, etc.; refuge.
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the protection or refuge afforded by such a thing.
He took shelter in a nearby barn.
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protection from blame, incrimination, etc.
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a dwelling place or home considered as a refuge from the elements.
Everyone's basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter.
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a building serving as a temporary refuge or residence for abandoned animals, people who are homeless, etc.: animal shelter.
homeless shelter;
animal shelter.
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Finance. tax shelter.
verb (used with object)
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shelters,
present (3rd person singular)
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sheltered,
past participle, past
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sheltering
present participle
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to be a shelter for; afford shelter to.
The old barn sheltered him from the rain.
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to provide with a shelter; place under cover.
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to protect, as by shelter; take under one's protection.
Parents should not try to shelter their children from normal childhood disappointments.
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Finance. to invest (money) in a tax shelter.
verb (used without object)
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shelters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sheltered,
past participle, past
-
sheltering
present participle
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to take shelter; find a refuge.
Students sheltered in the gymnasium when they heard the tornado sirens.
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Finance. to invest money in a tax shelter.
noun
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something that provides cover or protection, as from weather or danger; place of refuge
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the protection afforded by such a cover; refuge
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the state of being sheltered
verb
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(tr) to provide with or protect by a shelter
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(intr) to take cover, as from rain; find refuge
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(tr) to act as a shelter for; take under one's protection
Synonym Usage
See cover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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self-shelternoun
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shelterernoun
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shelterlessnessnoun
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shelterlessadjective
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unshelteringadjective
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shelteringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sheltersimple
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shelterssimple
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have shelteredperfect
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has shelteredperfect
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am shelteringprogressive
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are shelteringprogressive
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is shelteringprogressive
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have been shelteringperfect progressive
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has been shelteringperfect progressive
Past
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shelteredsimple
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had shelteredperfect
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was shelteringprogressive
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were shelteringprogressive
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had been shelteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shelter
First recorded in 1575–85; of uncertain origin; perhaps alteration of obsolete sheltron “testudo” (a protective vault formed of Roman legionaries' shields), Old English scieldtruma, equivalent to scield + truma “body of men in battle formation”; see origin at shield ( def. ), trim
Explanation
Shelter is one of the basic human needs along with food, water, and companionship. It is a structure that protects you from the elements and gives you a place to live. If you get lost in the woods during a rain storm, the first thing you should do is seek shelter, or a protected place to stay. A shelter is also a place to go for help, e.g. a homeless shelter is for those with nowhere to sleep, a bomb shelter protects people in a war zone and an animal shelter houses dogs and cats without a home. You've probably heard people talking about tax shelters, which are investments that protect your money from being taxed by the government.
Vocabulary lists containing shelter
There's No Word Like Home
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Beowulf vocabulary
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The Syrian Refugee Crisis Continues
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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.
See Examples For:
Wilbur is about 11 weeks old and weighs 17 pounds, the animal shelter said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
On Thursday, the animal shelter held a silent auction among the four contenders who had come forward wanting to adopt him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The regional administration issued an alert earlier in the night warning residents to take shelter.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The workers discovered the gold when they were in the process of laying sewage pipes for the new shelter homes set to be built there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
He placed the alder branches that he had removed across the far end of the shelter, propping them up to form a back wall.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Emergency shelters were opened in several towns along the coast, as evacuations continued throughout the night.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
As of April 2025, there were 61,142 shelters across Japan, but less than seven percent were underground, according to government data.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Fewer available surgeries mean more unsterilized cats, more kittens born outdoors and more animals entering shelters during a season when space, foster homes, staffing and veterinary capacity are already stretched,” Newkirk said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Netting and wire meshes around infrastructure can be useful against drones, and hardened shelters can help protect resources that have to be on the surface, such as aircraft, fuel, personnel and equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Just after the Hauptsturmführer left me last night there was an air raid and everybody scrambled to the shelters as usual.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
The jury which condemned Patterson to prison were supposed to be isolated - sheltered from the frenzy surrounding the case while they deliberated.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
This year, its 638 beds became part of a jigsaw puzzle of new beds and vacancies that added up to Skid Row’s increase of 614 sheltered residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Another of the rare adults among the migrants camped out in the complex, a woman of 45, sheltered nearby, her face burned red by the sun.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
“They suffered and they did their duty,” Sledge writes, “so a sheltered homeland can enjoy the peace that was purchased at such high cost.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Then he notices that there is a girl standing some paces away, also sheltered beneath the awning, and she is poring over the pages of a notebook that he is quite certain is his own.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Yugo said hundreds of homes in Nitung Village were severely damaged by the earthquake, and that residents had been sheltering in makeshift shelters.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
“It is impossible for anyone to collect every pistol, rifle, and piece of weaponry,” said Yahya Hisham, 41, who was displaced from northern Gaza during the war and is now sheltering in Deir al-Balah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Rather, it was accompaniment: feeding, sheltering, driving, watching, and warning so no one had to move in isolation.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Before his career took off, Reilly volunteered for the United Farm Workers and lived an ascetic life, sheltering in church halls, as he ministered to the poor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
I gaze down the hillside to where the others are sheltering in the little stone house.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
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.
