shelve.
To furnish (a place) with shelves; especially, to furnish (a library, etc.) with bookshelves.
Meaning & usage
To furnish (a place) with shelves; especially, to furnish (a library, etc.) with bookshelves.
to shelve a closet or a library
To place (something) on a shelf; especially, to place or arrange (books) on a bookshelf.
The library needs volunteers to help shelve books.
To place (something) in a certain location, as if on a shelf. To take (drugs) by anal or vaginal insertion.
To place (something) in a certain location, as if on a shelf. To have sex with (someone).
To set aside (something), as if on a shelf. To postpone or put aside, or entirely cease dealing with (a matter for discussion, a project, etc.).
They shelved the entire project when they heard how much it would cost.
To set aside (something), as if on a shelf. To remove (someone) from active service.
To hang over or project like a shelf; to overhang.
To extend via a series of projecting shelves.
Where this word comes from
The verb is a back-formation from shelves, the plural of shelf (“flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects”). The noun is derived from etymology 1, verb sense 2 (“(obsolete) to hang over or project like a shelf”).
A rocky shelf or ledge of a cliff, a mountain, etc.
Where this word comes from
The verb is a back-formation from shelves, the plural of shelf (“flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects”). The noun is derived from etymology 1, verb sense 2 (“(obsolete) to hang over or project like a shelf”).
To tilt or tip (a cart) to discharge its contents.
Of land or a surface: to incline, to slope.
To be in an inclined or sloping position.
Where this word comes from
From Late Middle English shelven (“to separate (someone or something) from another thing, keep away”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: * from shelf, shelfe (“shelf; cabinet, cupboard; grassy bank”) (though this is doubted by the Oxford English Dictionary); or * related to West Frisian skelf (“not level or straight, oblique”).
Alternative spelling of shelf (“a reef, sandbar, or shoal”).
Where this word comes from
Treated as a singular form of shelves, the plural of shelf (“reef; sandbar; shoal”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.