shelter in place

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phrase

: to remain inside in one's current location until a danger has passed : to temporarily take shelter in a protected space

The … campus was placed under lockdown in response to the shooting. People on campus were advised to shelter in place. No students were hurt or endangered, the school said.

—Julia Jacobo

These communities—including our own—need to start hardening themselves against future fires. That means preparing homes for fires the way we already do for earthquakes and floods. It also means developing better alert systems, heeding evacuation warnings when they come and being prepared to shelter in place when escape routes are cut off …

—The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California)

shelter-in-place

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adjective

variants or less commonly shelter in place

: instructing or requiring people to remain in their current location until a danger has passed

The governor has issued a shelter-in-place order.

: of or relating to sheltering in place

shelter-in-place drills

see also shelter in place at shelter entry 2

Examples of shelter in place in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

By the time Gaither arrived at her hotel Saturday night, Doha was under a shelter-in-place order. —Timia Cobb breaking News Reporter, Dallas Morning News, 1 Mar. 2026

The states of Jalisco and Nayarit were the last areas to have their shelter-in-place order lifted on February 25. —Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026

So dire was the situation that the US State Department issued shelter-in-place warnings to travelers. —Sol Amaya, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026

Americans spent thousands on security and private flights to get home following shelter-in-place orders in Mexico. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1977, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shelter in place

• aromatase
• hydrogenase
• nitrogenase
• oligoclase
• oxygenase
• plagioclase
• polymerase
• streptokinase
• triphosphatase
• abase
• airspace
• apace