SHELF (shelves)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: shelves   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shelf mean? 

• SHELF (noun)
  The noun SHELF has 2 senses:

1. a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects

2. a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

  Familiarity information: SHELF used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHELF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shelf" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shelf"):

bookshelf (a shelf on which to keep books)

hob (a shelf beside an open fire where something can be kept warm)

chimneypiece; mantel; mantelpiece; mantle; mantlepiece (shelf that projects from wall above fireplace)

overmantel (a shelf over a mantelpiece)

Holonyms ("shelf" is a part of...):

bookcase (a piece of furniture with shelves for storing books)

buffet; counter; sideboard (a piece of furniture that stands at the side of a dining room; has shelves and drawers)

cabinet (a piece of furniture resembling a cupboard with doors and shelves and drawers; for storage or display)

bureau; chest; chest of drawers; dresser (furniture with drawers for keeping clothes)

closet (a small private room for study or prayer)

etagere (a piece of furniture with open shelves for displaying small ornaments)

food market; grocery; grocery store; market (a marketplace where groceries are sold)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

ledge; shelf

Hypernyms ("shelf" is a kind of...):

ridge (a long narrow natural elevation or striation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shelf"):

berm (a narrow ledge or shelf typically at the top or bottom of a slope)

Derivation:

shelfy (full of submerged reefs or sandbanks or shoals)

 Context examples 

The tidy basket, with the bit of work she left unfinished when the needle grew 'so heavy', was still on its accustomed shelf.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I looked round, and there was the tin box on the shelf.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then he stumbled upon Gayley's "Classic Myths" and Bulfinch's "Age of Fable," side by side on a library shelf.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Beautiful green flowers stood in the windows, and there was a shelf with a row of little green books.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“Thank you, Master Copperfield,” returned Uriah, putting his book away upon the shelf—“I suppose you stop here, some time, Master Copperfield?”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

When these ice shelves collapse into the sea, they expose towering cliffs of ice along Antarctica's edge.

(Antarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to ice-sheet instability as much as predicted, National Science Foundation)

For answer the Professor took a book down from a shelf.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Issue associated with the using a device after the marked or known shelf life.

(Medical Device Shelf Life Exceeded, Food and Drug Administration)

I nearly fell out of mine; it was like a shelf.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

When the flame burned up, we saw an arched stone roof above our heads, and broad deal shelves all round us covered with dusty dishes.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)