SHELTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shelter mean? 

• SHELTER (noun)
  The noun SHELTER has 5 senses:

1. a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger

2. protective covering that provides protection from the weather

3. the condition of being protected

4. a way of organizing business to reduce the taxes it must pay on current earnings

5. temporary housing for homeless or displaced persons

  Familiarity information: SHELTER used as a noun is common.

• SHELTER (verb)
  The verb SHELTER has 2 senses:

1. provide shelter for

2. invest (money) so that it is not taxable

  Familiarity information: SHELTER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHELTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A structure that provides privacy and protection from danger

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

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

dugout (either of two low shelters on either side of a baseball diamond where the players and coaches sit during the game)

cookhouse (a detached or outdoor shelter for cooking)

collapsible shelter; tent (a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs))

cyclone cellar; storm cellar; tornado cellar (an underground shelter where you can go until a storm passes)

sconce (a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather)

asylum; refuge; sanctuary (a shelter from danger or hardship)

mantelet; mantlet (portable bulletproof shelter)

loft; pigeon loft (a raised shelter in which pigeons are kept)

army hut; field hut; hut (temporary military shelter)

hovel; hut; hutch; shack; shanty (small crude shelter used as a dwelling)

haven; oasis (a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary)

fallout shelter (a shelter to protect occupants from the fallout from an atomic bomb)

Derivation:

shelter (provide shelter for)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Protective covering that provides protection from the weather

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

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

sentry box (a small shelter with an open front to protect a sentry from the weather)

sconce (a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather)

canopy (a covering (usually of cloth) that serves as a roof to shelter an area from the weather)

roost (a shelter with perches for fowl or other birds)

lean-to (rough shelter whose roof has only one slope)

dog house; doghouse; kennel (outbuilding that serves as a shelter for a dog)

cote (a small shelter for domestic animals (as sheep or pigeons))

birdhouse (a shelter for birds)

bell cot; bell cote (a small shelter for bells; has a gable or shed roof)

Derivation:

shelter (provide shelter for)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The condition of being protected

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

protection; shelter

Context example:

he enjoyed a sense of peace and protection in his new home

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

security (the state of being free from danger or injury)

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

indemnity; insurance (protection against future loss)

radioprotection (protection against harmful effects of radiation)

Derivation:

shelter (provide shelter for)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A way of organizing business to reduce the taxes it must pay on current earnings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

shelter; tax shelter

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

decrease; diminution; reduction; step-down (the act of decreasing or reducing something)

Derivation:

shelter (provide shelter for)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Temporary housing for homeless or displaced persons

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

housing; living accommodations; lodging (structures collectively in which people are housed)

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

camp; refugee camp (shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression or for religious beliefs)

• SHELTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they shelter    ... he / she / it shelters   
Past simple: sheltered   
Past participle: sheltered   
-ing form: sheltering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provide shelter for

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

After the earthquake, the government could not provide shelter for the thousands of homeless people

Hypernyms (to "shelter" is one way to...):

furnish; provide; render; supply (give something useful or necessary to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shelter"):

domiciliate; house; put up (provide housing for)

kennel (put up in a kennel)

stable (shelter in a stable)

stall (put into, or keep in, a stall)

harbor; harbour (secretly shelter (as of fugitives or criminals))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

shelter (a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger)

shelter (protective covering that provides protection from the weather)

shelter (a way of organizing business to reduce the taxes it must pay on current earnings)

shelter (the condition of being protected)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Invest (money) so that it is not taxable

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "shelter" is one way to...):

commit; invest; place; put (make an investment)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

Who knows what it may shelter?

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The doctor and Gray and I ran full speed for shelter.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

When she turned and tried to drag him back into the bush's shelter, he pulled her away from it and on into the open.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The mother said: “Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must be a traveller who is seeking shelter.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

A successful invasion of a host by an organism that uses the host for food and shelter.

(Parasitic Infection, NCI Thesaurus)

Whether I have the shelter of your roof or of the village inn is, of course, for you to decide.

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

It might be an evil start to come to his door so late and claim the shelter of his roof.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For Miss Lucy or from her, I have no fear; but that other to whom is there that she is Un-Dead, he have now the power to seek her tomb and find shelter.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He shall not shelter himself behind a promise from you softhearted girls.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The walk being here less sheltered than on the other side, allowed them to see him before they met.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)