Adjacent Words

Shelf definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHELF, n. plu. shelves.
1. A platform of boards or planks, elevated above the floor, and fixed and set on a frame or contiguous to a wall, for holding vessels, utensils, books and the like.
2. A sand bank in the sea, or a rock or ledge of rocks, rendering the water shallow and dangerous to ships.
3. In mining, fast ground; the part of the internal structure of the earth which lies in an even regular form.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects
2: a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water [syn: ledge, shelf]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural shelves) Etymology: Middle English, probably from Old English scylfe; akin to Old Norse hl?thskjalf Odin's seat Date: 14th century 1. a. a thin flat usually long and narrow piece of material (as wood) fastened horizontally (as on a wall) at a distance from the floor to hold objects b. one of several similar pieces in a closet, bookcase, or similar structure c. the contents of a shelf <the author of a shelf of best sellers> 2. something resembling a shelf in form or position: as a. a sandbank or ledge of rocks usually partially submerged b. a flat projecting layer of rock c. the submerged gradually sloping border of a continent or island ; continental shelf • shelfful noun • shelflike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. (pl. shelves) 1 a a thin flat piece of wood or metal etc. projecting from a wall, or as part of a unit, used to support books etc. b a flat-topped recess in a wall etc. used for supporting objects. 2 a a projecting horizontal ledge in a cliff face etc. b a reef or sandbank under water. c = continental shelf. Phrases and idioms: on the shelf 1 (of a woman) past the age when she might expect to be married. 2 (esp. of a retired person) no longer active or of use. shelf-life the amount of time for which a stored item of food etc. remains usable. shelf-mark a notation on a book showing its place in a library. shelf-room available space on a shelf. Derivatives: shelved adj. shelfful n. (pl. -fuls). shelflike adj. Etymology: ME f. (M)LG schelf, rel. to OE scylfe partition, scylf crag 2. n. & v. Austral. sl. --n. an informer. --v.tr. inform upon. Etymology: 20th c.: orig. uncert.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shelf Shelf, n.; pl. Shelves. [OE. shelfe, schelfe, AS. scylfe; akin to G. schelfe, Icel. skj[=a]lf. In senses 2 & 3, perhaps a different word (cf. Shelve, v. i.).] 1. (Arch.) A flat tablet or ledge of any material set horizontally at a distance from the floor, to hold objects of use or ornament. 2. A sand bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks, rendering the water shallow, and dangerous to ships. On the tawny sands and shelves. --Milton. On the secret shelves with fury cast. --Dryden. 3. (Mining) A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat, projecting layer of rock. 4. (Naut.) A piece of timber running the whole length of a vessel inside the timberheads. --D. Kemp. To lay on the shelf, to lay aside as unnecessary or useless; to dismiss; to discard.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shelves) 1. A shelf is a flat piece of wood, metal, or glass which is attached to a wall or to the sides of a cupboard. Shelves are used for keeping things on. He took a book from the shelf. ...the middle shelf of the oven. N-COUNT 2. A shelf is a section of rock on a cliff or mountain or underwater that sticks out like a shelf. The house stands on a shelf of rock among pines. N-COUNT see also continental shelf 3. If you buy something off the shelf, you buy something that is not specially made for you. (BRIT) ...off-the-shelf software. ? tailor-made PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Ledge. 2. Shoal, shallow, rock, ledge.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

On the shelf, i.e. pawned.

Moby Thesaurus

archives, armory, arsenal, attic, band, bank, bar, basement, bay, beam-end, bed, bedding, belt, bin, bonded warehouse, bookcase, box, bunker, buttery, cargo dock, cellar, chest, closet, conservatory, coral reef, corbel, couche, course, crate, crib, cupboard, deck, depository, depot, dock, drawer, dump, exchequer, flat, floor, ford, gallery, glory hole, godown, gradin, gradino, hob, hold, hutch, layer, ledge, level, library, locker, lumber room, lumberyard, magasin, magazine, mantel, mantelshelf, measures, overlayer, overstory, predella, rack, reef, repertory, repository, reservoir, retable, rick, sandbank, sandbar, seam, shallow, shallows, shoal, shoal water, shoulder, stack, stack room, stage, step, stock room, storage, store, storehouse, storeroom, story, stratum, substratum, superaltar, superstratum, supply base, supply depot, tank, thickness, tidal flats, tier, topsoil, treasure house, treasure room, treasury, underlayer, understory, understratum, vat, vault, warehouse, wetlands, wine cellar, zone