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

Examples of shelter in place in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The situation resulted in evacuations for some neighbors and shelter-in-place orders for others as authorities attempted to bring an end to the standoff. —Paula Wethington, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

Brown University's shelter-in-place order would not be lifted until the next morning. —Doha Madani, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025

Those inside the shelter-in-place zone were advised to turn off their home heating systems to avoid possible contamination, Groves said. —Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Dec. 2025

The shelter-in-place impacted more than 14,000 residents. —Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 28 Dec. 2025

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