shelve

verb

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

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
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.
But Mair, too, has had to whittle his lab down to just five people and shelved many of the team’s more ambitious experiments. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025 The project’s costs came to at least $15 billion before getting shelved. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025 The version ultimately was shelved by Disney. Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025 Should Adebayo be shelved for significant time, Spoelstra will be able to at least bring in some shooting help, with probably Nikola Jovic being inserted into the first five. Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shelve

Word History

Etymology

shelf

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shelve was in 1598

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shelve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shelve. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

shelve

verb
shelved; shelving
1
: to place on a shelf
shelve books
2
: to put off or aside : defer
shelve a project
shelver noun

More from Merriam-Webster on shelve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!