shelter
Americannoun
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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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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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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
Related Words
See cover.
Other Word Forms
- self-shelter noun
- shelterer noun
- shelteringly adverb
- shelterless adjective
- shelterlessness noun
- unsheltering adjective
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”; shield ( def. ), trim
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.
One officer can be heard calling out: “Come out or shelter in place.”
From Los Angeles Times
His mum "tried hard to shelter me" and filled the house with feel-good music – gospel songs, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson.
From BBC
It was hit in January 2024, and for months afterwards, its grounds served as a shelter for displaced families.
From BBC
Vietnamese nun Thich Tam Tri -- whose temple north of Tokyo offers shelter to her compatriots in trouble -- said some interns make poor choices, falling into debt through gambling or ill-advised ventures into Bitcoin.
From Barron's
That means a Mars shelter has to do far more than provide a roof and walls.
From Science Daily
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.
