shelve
verb /ʃelv/
/ʃelv/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they shelve | /ʃelv/ /ʃelv/ |
| he / she / it shelves | /ʃelvz/ /ʃelvz/ |
| past simple shelved | /ʃelvd/ /ʃelvd/ |
| past participle shelved | /ʃelvd/ /ʃelvd/ |
| -ing form shelving | /ˈʃelvɪŋ/ /ˈʃelvɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] shelve something to decide not to continue with a plan, either for a short time or permanently synonym put on ice
- The government has shelved the idea until at least next year.
- Plans to expand the company have been quietly shelved.
- [transitive] shelve something to put books, etc. on a shelf
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (of land) to slope downwards
- The beach shelved gently down to the water.
- The ground shelves quite steeply here.
Word Originsenses 1 to 2 late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘project like a shelf’ (Shakespearean usage)): from shelves, plural of shelf.sense 3 late Middle English: origin uncertain; perhaps from shelf.