shelve

verb

ˈshelv 

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

Synonyms of shelve

• postpone
• delay
• defer

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

California responded in kind, with passage of Proposition 50, a measure that shelved the work of a nonpartisan redistricting commission in favor of a map aimed at handing Democrats five additional seats. — Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

For Traces of You, Driscoll had enough distance from the original recordings to see any issues that had caused Ivy to previously shelve the tracks. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 16 July 2026

And the stakes are as high as preventing one of our most effective technologies for holding and engaging with human intelligence from being shelved as a topic of the past. — Jen Benka, Time, 14 July 2026

Access to another exit near the kitchen might also have been narrowed by shelving units and lockers, said Kittharath, who visited the scene Monday morning. — ABC News, 13 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

shelf

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for shelve

• delve
• twelve

Kids Definition

shelve

verb

ˈshelv 

shelved; shelving

1

: to place on a shelf

shelve books

2

: to put off or aside : defer

shelve a project

shelver noun