Synonyms of shelters

shelters 1 of 2

noun

plural of shelter

as in refuges

something (as a building) that offers cover from the weather or protection from danger

the sudden fierce storm forced us to run to the nearest shelter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• refuges
• sanctuaries
• retreats
• havens
• residences
• asylums
• lodgings
• bolt-holes
• harbors
• harborages
• oases
• sanctums
• hideouts
• abodes
• dwellings
• roofs
• ports
• anchorages
• houses
• housings
• screens
• quarters
• habitations
• domiciles
• moorings
• fortresses
• hideaways
• forts
• strongholds
• dens
• places
• cloisters
• rests
• sheds
• closets
• windbreaks
• castles
• lairs
• hermitages
• pads
• diggings
• redoubts
• palisades
• covers
• coverts
• lean-tos
• lodgments
• lees

shelters

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of shelter

1

as in protects

to be or provide a shelter for

the abandoned barn shelters a colony of stray cats

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protects
• houses
• refuges
• harbors
• shields
• defends
• safeguards
• secures
• quarters
• wards
• shadows
• screens
• covers
• places
• domiciles
• shades

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• exposes

2

as in houses

to provide with living quarters or shelter

sheltered the troops in tents until permanent barracks could be built

Synonyms & Similar Words

• houses
• camps
• roofs
• lodges
• rooms
• accommodates
• boards
• chambers
• quarters
• homes
• domiciles
• harbors
• bunks
• bivouacs
• billets
• encamps
• bestows
• takes in
• sheds
• stables
• tents
• barracks
• roosts
• beds (down)
• secures
• puts up
• ensconces

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ejects
• evicts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shelters

Noun

Last week torrential rains triggered deadly mudslides and flooding in Cox’s Bazar, flattening shelters and killing more than a dozen people, including children. — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 16 July 2026

Samoyed dogs actually slept in the shelters with their people. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026

For one, many counties in Florida don’t have enough room at their general population shelters, considered a last resort for fleeing from a storm. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026

In Villahermosa, dozens slept on the streets or in shelters, left to fend for themselves. — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said about 11,000 villagers moved to 77 emergency shelters mostly in southern Philippine provinces in recent days because of the stormy weather. — Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026

Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said about 11,000 villagers moved to 77 emergency shelters mostly in southern Philippine provinces in recent days due to the stormy weather. — ABC News, 11 July 2026

Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. — John Hanna, Fortune, 8 July 2026

None of the large shelters run by the city or county are located on Bannon Street. — Theresa Clift july 7, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026

Verb

Made up of vast mangrove forests, brackish marshlands, and tons of tiny islands, the refuge shelters a wide variety of animals, including American alligators and crocodiles, Florida panthers, manatees, river otters, bottle-nosed dolphins, and more than 200 species of migratory birds. — Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026

The film centers on Cheng Jun, a Chinese international student working the night shift at a 24-hour convenience store who forms an unlikely bond with a homeless elderly woman who shelters there each night. — Jenny S. Li, Variety, 15 June 2026

Rain pushes the weeds higher, then shelters them on turf too soft for the machines meant to clip them. — CBS News, 1 May 2026

Remove firewood, bricks, boards, tarps, or vegetation up against the house, which shelters insects that provide food for spiders, says Gray. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026

Though Brigitta despises him, Maria shelters him. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026

The roof of his celebrated Restaurant Mestizo, also in the capital city, is supported by huge load-bearing stones from a local quarry; his Pite House, a residence in nearby Papudo, sits nestled on a cliffside that shelters it from prevailing winds. — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026

This slime shelters symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Jan. 2026

The organization shelters about 70 dogs and 50 cats, many injured or left without owners by the war. — Tavleen Tarrant, NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025