shelf S3 W3 /ʃelf/ noun (plural shelves /ʃelvz/)
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Middle Low German; Origin: schelf]

1. [countable] 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. [countable] a narrow surface of rock shaped like a shelf, especially under water ⇒ continental shelf

3. off-the-shelf available to be bought immediately, without having to be specially designed or ordered:
off-the-shelf software packages ⇒ off-the-peg

4. 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) British English old-fashioned too old to get married – used especially of women
⇒ shelve(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shelf
noun
ADJ. high, low | deep, shallow | bottom, middle, top He took a book down from the top shelf.
bare, empty | open | dusty | glass, metal, wooden | bathroom, kitchen, library, shop, supermarket
VERB + SHELF have The fridge had three shelves.
build, put up She soon learned how to put up her own shelves.
arrange sth on, display sth on, put sth (back) on, replace sth on, return sth to, stack sth on, stock I put the packet back on the shelf. He's got a job stocking shelves in a supermarket.
clear I've cleared a shelf in the cupboard for you.
get sth down from/off, pick sth from/off, remove sth from, take sth down from/off The supermarket immediately removed the product from its shelves.
fill, fit on, go on, remain on, sit on Souvenirs filled the shelves. Her diaries just sat on the shelf for years (= nobody looked at them for years).
reach (for/to) She reached for the shelf next to the bed.
SHELF + VERB be full of sth, contain sth, hold sth
SHELF + NOUN space | life The medicine has a shelf life of six months.
PREP. off a/the ~ I knocked it off the shelf by accident.
on a/the ~ the books on the shelves
~ of a shelf of books on economics
PHRASES be filled/lined with shelves The walls of her study were lined with shelves.
a place on your shelves The book deserves a place on everyone's shelves.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shelf
ʃelf
See: on the shelf

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲