shelf

shelf
shelf
W3S3 [ʃelf] n plural shelves [ʃelvz]
[Date: 1300-1400; : Middle Low German; Origin: schelf]
1.)
a long flat narrow board attached to a wall or in a frame or cupboard, used for putting things on
top/bottom/next etc shelf
Put it back on the top shelf.
shelves of books
supermarket shelves
the amount of shelf space available
2.)
a narrow surface of rock shaped like a shelf, especially under water
3.) off-the-shelf
available to be bought immediately, without having to be specially designed or ordered
off-the-shelf software packages
4.) be (left) on the shelf
a) if something is left on the shelf, it is not used or considered
The album stayed on the shelf for several years, until it was finally released.
b) BrE old-fashioned to be considered too old to get married, used especially of women
→↑shelve

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • shelf — [ ʃelf ] (plural shelves [ ʃelvz ] ) noun count ** 1. ) a flat piece of wood, plastic, or glass that is attached to the wall or is part of a piece of furniture, used for putting things on: He took a book from the shelf. top/bottom shelf: The… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shelf — [shelf] n. pl. shelves [ME, prob. < MLowG schelf, akin to OE scylf, shelf, ledge < IE * skelp < base * (s)kel , to cut > HALF] 1. a thin, flat length of wood or other material fixed horizontally at right angles to a wall and used for… …   English World dictionary

  • shelf — (n.) late 14c., from M.L.G. schelf shelf, set of shelves, or from O.E. cognate scylfe shelf, ledge, floor, and scylf peak, pinnacle, from P.Gmc. *skelf , *skalf split, possibly from the notion of a split piece of wood (Cf. O.N. skjölf bench ),… …   Etymology dictionary

  • shelf — ► NOUN (pl. shelves) 1) a flat length of wood or other rigid material attached to a wall or forming part of a piece of furniture, providing a surface for storage or display. 2) a ledge of rock or protruding strip of land. ● off the shelf Cf. ↑off …   English terms 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shelf — has the plural form shelves, and the corresponding verb is shelve. The compound form shelf ful should be written with a hyphen for clarity, and its plural is shelf fuls …   Modern English usage

  • shelf — shelf; shelf·ful; …   English syllables

  • Shelf — (spr. schelf), Stadt im Westbezirk von Yorkshire (England), 5 km nordöstlich von Halifax, mit Kammgarn und Damastweberei, chemischen Fabriken und (1901) 2500 Einw. In der Umgegend Kohlen und Eisengruben und Steinbrüche …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • shelf — [n] jutting, flat area or piece bank, bracket, console, counter, cupboard, ledge, mantelpiece, mantle, rack, reef, ridge, rock, shallow, shoal; concepts 445,509,513 …   New thesaurus

  • Shelf — A shelf is a detail of furniture for storing items.It may also refer to:* Shelf (computing), a user interface feature in the NeXTSTEP operating system * Shelf, West Yorkshire, a village in England * Continental shelf, the extended perimeter of a… …   Wikipedia

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