shelve

verb

ˈshelv 

shelved; shelving

transitive verb

1

: to furnish with shelves

2

: to place on a shelf

shelve books

3

a

: to remove from active service

b

: to put off or aside

shelve a project

intransitive verb

: to slope in a formation like a shelf

shelver noun

Synonyms of shelve

• postpone
• delay
• defer

Examples of shelve in a Sentence

The books were shelved according to category.

let's shelve the project for now

Recent Examples on the Web

The sixth edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival was due to take place from December 3 to 12 but has been shelved this year. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Lenders pull back, firms at the heart of the boom cut costs or close, bankruptcies pick up, building projects are shelved. — Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

However, the dreamy collaboration could be shelved or possibly land on Eminem’s new album. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, Neon has set Luca Guadagnino‘s Artificial for a December release after the film, starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, was shelved by Amazon earlier this year. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

shelf

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for shelve

• delve
• twelve

Kids Definition

shelve

verb

ˈshelv 

shelved; shelving

1

: to place on a shelf

shelve books

2

: to put off or aside : defer

shelve a project

shelver noun