shelve

1 of 2

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

shelver

2 of 2

noun

shelv·​er

və(r)

plural -s

: one that shelves (as books in a library)

Synonyms of shelve

Verb

• postpone
• delay
• defer

Examples of shelve in a Sentence

Verb

The books were shelved according to category.

let's shelve the project for now

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

And last Sunday, in these pages, Coulter lamented losing his unfettered discretion on where to shelve books. — Robert Steinbuch, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026

Others, including Flutterwave, have quietly shelved Nasdaq ambitions. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026

But federal government attorneys informed the court late Monday that the board has shelved the proposal from its September meeting agenda. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026

Course designer Leopoldo Palacios’s influential track featured a rollback to the water tray — a bit of trickery that Palacios had famously used at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and had shelved since. — Tilly Berendt, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

shelf

First Known Use

Verb

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