as in to postpone
to assign to a later time
let's shelve the project for now
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Recent Examples of shelve
The Washington Post reported last week that HHS has shelved a study CDC scientists were on the verge of publishing showing that this past winter the vaccines reduced the risk of needing emergency care or hospitalization for Covid by 50%.
—
Helen Branswell, STAT, 27 Apr. 2026
The country had poured more than 9 billion rand ($550 million) into the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, which briefly made South Africa one of the global centers for advanced nuclear engineering before the project was shelved due to delays and rising costs.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decided to shelve, for now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in his graft trial, preferring to press the parties to reach an agreement that would terminate the case consensually, his office announced.
—Galit Altstein, Bloomberg, 26 Apr. 2026
The Looney Tunes movie starring Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor was shelved and written off by the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros in November 2023 after completion as the P&A economics for a theatrical release didn’t make sense for the $70M production.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shelve
Helen Branswell, STAT, 27 Apr. 2026
The country had poured more than 9 billion rand ($550 million) into the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, which briefly made South Africa one of the global centers for advanced nuclear engineering before the project was shelved due to delays and rising costs.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decided to shelve, for now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in his graft trial, preferring to press the parties to reach an agreement that would terminate the case consensually, his office announced.
—Galit Altstein, Bloomberg, 26 Apr. 2026
The Looney Tunes movie starring Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor was shelved and written off by the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros in November 2023 after completion as the P&A economics for a theatrical release didn’t make sense for the $70M production.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shelve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelve
Verb
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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has postponed all final exams and assignments after an online learning system was taken offline following a cyberattack.—
William Lee,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Though they were initially supposed to head to trial this March, Lively and Baldoni’s case was postponed to later this month.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
Verb
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When that early foundation is delayed or inconsistent, the effects don’t stay confined to those first years.—
Tina Dello Russo,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
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San Diego is delaying most impacts of a new state law that requires cities to allow high-rise housing near trolley stations and major bus stops — but questions persist about how many bus stops the new law will affect.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
Verb
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The ceasefire secured the release of the remaining hostages, but the multistage plan deferred the most arduous issues, which remain unsolved.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
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Representatives at the New York City Fire Department deferred comment to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shelve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelve. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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