Shelve — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

hold back to a later time

place on a shelf

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʃˈɛlv/

🇬🇧British English

/ʃˈɛlv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʃˈɛlv/

1 syllable Say it as /ʃˈɛlv/.

Examples

let's postpone the exam
shelve books

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

postpone set back prorogue remit put off put over table hold over defer

Parts of Speech

verb	hold back to a later time “let's postpone the exam”
verb	place on a shelf “shelve books”

Word Forms

postponement	noun	act of putting off to a future time
postponer	noun	someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)
prorogation	noun	discontinuation of the meeting (of a legislative body) without dissolving it
shelver	noun	a worker who puts things (as books) on shelves
deferment	noun	act of putting off to a future time
deferral	noun	act of putting off to a future time
putoff	noun	a pretext for delay or inaction

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Regal

auf einen späteren Zeitpunkt zurückhalten

🇫🇷French

étagère

retiens-toi pour plus tard

🇪🇸Spanish

dejar de lado

retener para un momento posterior

🇮🇹Italian

accantonare

rimandare a un momento successivo

🇳🇱Dutch

plank

vasthouden tot een later tijdstip

🇵🇹Portuguese

arquivar

segure para um momento posterior

🇷🇺Russian

полка

отложим на более позднее время

India

🇮🇳Hindi

टांड़

बाद के समय के लिए रुकें

🇧🇩Bengali

তাক

পরের সময় ধরে রাখুন

🇮🇳Tamil

அலமாரி

பிந்தைய காலத்திற்குத் தடுத்து நிறுத்துங்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

షెల్వ్

తరువాతి సమయానికి తిరిగి పట్టుకోండి

🇮🇳Marathi

कपाट

नंतर थांबा

🇮🇳Gujarati

છાજલી

પાછળથી સમય સુધી પકડી રાખો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಪಾಟು

ನಂತರದ ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಡೆಹಿಡಿಯಿರಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അലമാര

പിന്നീടുള്ള സമയത്തേക്ക് പിടിക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਲਮਾਰੀ

ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਇੱਕ ਵਾਰ ਵਾਪਸ ਰੱਖੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

شیلف

بعد میں واپس رکھو

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

搁置

留到稍后的时间

🇯🇵Japanese

棚上げする

後で我慢する

🇰🇷Korean

선반

나중으로 미뤄라

🇻🇳Vietnamese

xiên

hãy đợi đến lúc khác

🇹🇭Thai

ดอง

อดใจรอในภายหลัง

🇮🇩Indonesian

mengesampingkan

tahan lagi di lain waktu

🇵🇭Filipino

istante

maghintay sa ibang pagkakataon

🇲🇾Malay

rak

tahanlah nanti

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الرف

التراجع إلى وقت لاحق

🇮🇷Persian

قفسه

به زمان بعدی خودداری کنید

🇹🇷Turkish

raf

daha sonraki bir zamana ertelemek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לִגנוֹז

להתאפק לזמן מאוחר יותר

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'shelve'?

The primary meaning of 'shelve' is 'hold back to a later time'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'shelve' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'shelve' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'shelve' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'shelve' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'shelve' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'shelve' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'shelve' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'shelve' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'shelve' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'shelve' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted