shelves









shelves


noun

  1. plural of shelf.

noun, plural shelves [shelvz] /ʃɛlvz/.

  1. a thin slab of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame, for supporting objects.
  2. the contents of this: a shelf of books.
  3. a surface or projection resembling this; ledge.
  4. Physical Geography.
    1. a sandbank or submerged extent of rock in the sea or river.
    2. the bedrock underlying an alluvial deposit or the like.
    3. continental shelf.
  5. Archery. the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.

Idioms

  1. off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock: Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.
  2. on the shelf, Informal.
    1. put aside temporarily; postponed.
    2. inactive; useless.
    3. without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.

verb (used with object), shelved, shelv·ing.

  1. to place (something) on a shelf or shelves.
  2. to put off or aside from consideration: to shelve the question.
  3. to remove from active use or service; dismiss.
  4. to furnish with shelves.

verb (used without object), shelved, shelv·ing.

  1. to slope gradually.

noun

  1. the plural of shelf

verb (tr)

  1. to place on a shelf
  2. to provide with shelves
  3. to put aside or postpone from consideration
  4. to dismiss or cause to retire

verb

  1. (intr) to slope away gradually; incline

noun plural shelves (ʃɛlvz)

  1. a thin flat plank of wood, metal, etc, fixed horizontally against a wall, etc, for the purpose of supporting objects
  2. something resembling this in shape or function
  3. the objects placed on a shelf, regarded collectivelya shelf of books
  4. a projecting layer of ice, rock, etc, on land or in the seaSee also continental shelf
  5. mining a layer of bedrock hit when sinking a shaft
  6. archery the part of the hand on which an arrow rests when the bow is grasped
  7. See off the shelf
  8. on the shelf put aside or abandoned: used esp of unmarried women considered to be past the age of marriage

verb

  1. (tr) Australian slang to inform upon

n.late 14c., from Middle Low German schelf “shelf, set of shelves,” or from Old English cognate scylfe, which perhaps meant “shelf, ledge, floor,” and scylf “peak, pinnacle,” from Proto-Germanic *skelf- “split,” possibly from the notion of a split piece of wood (cf. Old Norse skjölf “bench”), from PIE root *(s)kel- (1) “to cut, cleave” (see scale (n.1)). Shelf life first recorded 1927. Phrase on the shelf “out of the way, inactive” is attested from 1570s; of unmarried women with no prospects from 1839. Off the shelf “ready-made” is from 1936. Meaning “ledge of rock” is from 1809, perhaps from or influenced by shelf (n.2). Related: Shelves. v.11590s, “to overhang,” also “to provide with shelves,” probably a back-formation from shelves, plural of shelf (n.1). Meaning “put on a shelf” first recorded 1650s; metaphoric sense of “lay aside, dismiss” is from 1812. Related: Shelved; shelving. n.2“sandbank,” 1540s, of unknown origin. Related: Shelfy “abounding in sandbanks.” v.2“to slope gradually,” 1610s, from Middle English shelven “to slope,” from shelfe “grassy slope,” a word related to shelf (n.1). Related: Shelved; shelving.

  1. See continental shelf.

see off the shelf; on the shelf.

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