shelve
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to place (something) on a shelf or shelves.
-
to put off or aside from consideration.
to shelve the question.
- Synonyms:
- pigeonhole, table, defer
-
to remove from active use or service; dismiss.
-
to furnish with shelves.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to place on a shelf
-
to provide with shelves
-
to put aside or postpone from consideration
-
to dismiss or cause to retire
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shelve1
First recorded in 1585–95; verb use of shelve(s)
Origin of shelve2
1580–90; origin uncertain; compare Frisian skelf not quite level
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:
He said the investigating judge in Spain would now consider the new evidence, and decide whether to proceed as a criminal case or shelve it.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Turmoil in the bond market might have played a role in the decision of smart-ring maker Oura to shelve its IPO.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told world leaders at the United Nations this week that the country would neither shelve its nuclear program nor build nuclear weapons, repeating Tehran’s usual refrain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Rather than shelve the movie, Scott — ever the problem solver — replaced him with Christopher Plummer and reshot 22 scenes just weeks before it was due in theaters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
He’d mostly looked at academic papers, but maybe there were more encyclopedias behind the medical journals Brother Ifechi had asked him to shelve...
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
But as state "bodegas" disappear, the "libreta" ration book that symbolized equal access to affordable food for all is being quietly shelved.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
South Korea and Japan shelved decades of historical enmity to present China with a united front.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
“There’s no gotcha, there’s no backroom deal,” the mayor said before the contract was shelved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Reece Weaver has shelved her cowboy boots and swapped the football pitch for the stage as she steps into one of the most famous roles in the world.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
I look at the Little Free Library stocked with picture books and shelved alphabetically by the illustrators’ last names.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
The front hallway leads to a family room, where intricate built-in shelving surrounds a grand fireplace—one of four in the home.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Once a film is made, they said, shelving it would make little sense, because even a film that loses money in theaters adds value to the company’s streaming library.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Yet the quarterly tax write-off from shelving Coyote vs.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Other transgressions there included urine contamination from rodents on food packaging and shelving, inadequate cleaning standards and structural defects allowing pest entry.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The very long, very wide cellar was just as he remembered it: filled with tidy rows of floor-to-ceiling shelving units.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
