off the shelf
1 of 2phrase
: available from stock : not made to order
off the shelf equipment
: available as a stock item : not specially designed or custom-made
off-the-shelf software
Examples of off the shelf in a Sentence
Adjective
she chose to have her computer designed to her specifications rather than buying an off-the-shelf machine
Recent Examples on the Web
Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Even the wiring had to be improvised at scale, with metal rods used in place of traditional jumper wires, since no off-the-shelf equivalents exist for a project of this size.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 May 2026
The same product class today can be assembled by one technically literate person in a weekend using off-the-shelf models and a Lovable frontend.
—Gabriel Alin Zainescu, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
One of those is an off-the-shelf model, while there are two other development types.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for off the shelf
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Most of the components are off-the-shelf and difficult to trace.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Even the wiring had to be improvised at scale, with metal rods used in place of traditional jumper wires, since no off-the-shelf equivalents exist for a project of this size.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 May 2026
The same product class today can be assembled by one technically literate person in a weekend using off-the-shelf models and a Lovable frontend.
—Gabriel Alin Zainescu, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
One of those is an off-the-shelf model, while there are two other development types.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for off the shelf
Cite this Entry
“Off the shelf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off%20the%20shelf. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
