shelve

play

verb \ ˈshelv \

Definition of shelve

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

See shelve defined for English-language learners

See shelve defined for kids

Examples of shelve in a Sentence

The books were shelved according to category.
let's shelve the project for now

Recent Examples of shelve from the Web

These copper and wooden accents can be seen in the knobs and shelving throughout the home.

— courtney campbell, Country Living, "Take a Peek Inside This Adorable Tiny House That's Just 100 Square Feet," 24 Aug. 2017
Other favorites: Floating shelving units ($1,000 to $4,000) and desks (starting at $1,500).

— linda jerkins, ajc, "Southern Made: For the nester & entertainer," 17 Aug. 2017
AROUND THE DIVISION Steelers: Tennessee's Josh Dobbs will be starting the second Pittsburgh preseason game with Ben Roethlisberger shelved.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "Bengals Walkthru: The three QB question," 16 Aug. 2017
If the vote tally falls short of the 342 needed for a trial, the case is shelved for the rest of Temer’s mandate.

— simone preissler iglesias, Bloomberg.com, "How to Try a President in Brazil," 31 July 2017
Russia shelved the meeting after the Trump administration announced an expansion of sanctions in response to the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump dysfunction follows family from the campaign to the White House," 12 July 2017
A row of cash registers sat straight ahead, aisles of shelving stacked with an array of goods, both canned and fresh, stretching long past the lines of patrons waiting to check out.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "Meal time or not, Supermercado Guanajuato is worth a stop | Review," 5 July 2017
There was Manuel Margot’s first home run since returning from a left calf strain that shelved him for a month.

— jeff sanders, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chacin, Padres a winner as second half starts," 2 July 2017
With Young shelved at first by his knee injury, Collins and the Titans went 13–3 that season.

— greg bishop, SI.com, "Vince Young's journey north to rewrite the ending of his football career," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shelve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shelve

shelf

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1598

See Words from the same year

shelve Synonyms

Synonyms

defer, delay, hold off (on), hold over, hold up, lay over, put off, put over, remit, postpone

Related Words

suspend; hesitate, pause, stay; detain, retard, slow; extend, lengthen, prolong, protract, stretch (out); wait

Near Antonyms

act, deal (with), decide (upon), do, work (on)

SHELVE Defined for English Language Learners

shelve

play

verb

Definition of shelve for English Language Learners

: to put (something) on a shelf
: to stop doing or thinking about (something) for a period of time
: to make (someone) unable to play or perform

SHELVE Defined for Kids

shelve

play

verb \ ˈshelv \

Definition of shelve for Students

shelved; shelving

1 :to place or store on a shelf

shelve books

2 :to put off or aside :defer

The plan has been shelved for now.

Learn More about shelve

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Examples of shelve in a Sentence

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SHELVE Defined for English Language Learners

shelve

Definition of shelve for English Language Learners

SHELVE Defined for Kids

shelve

Definition of shelve for Students

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