shelf
- 01 A1 Beginner
a flat board on a wall or in a cupboard where you can put books, tools, or other objects.
a flat, rigid structure fixed horizontally to a wall or as part of a piece of furniture, used for storage or display.
Simple“He put the new books on the top shelf so the children couldn't reach them.”
In context“The carpenter installed adjustable shelves in the pantry to accommodate various sizes of kitchen appliances and storage containers.”
UsageThe plural form is 'shelves'.
PitfallI bought two new shelfs for my room. I bought two new shelves for my room.The plural of 'shelf' is 'shelves'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a flat, rocky area that sticks out from a cliff or under the ocean.
a projecting ledge of rock or a submerged bank, such as a continental shelf.
Simple“The divers explored the coral shelf just off the coast of the island.”
In context“The continental shelf extends for miles beneath the ocean surface before dropping off into the deep basin.”
Teacher's tipOften used in the specific geographical term 'continental shelf'.
From Middle English schelfe, probably from Old English sċylfe, sċilfe (“shelf, ledge, deck of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic skilfijā, from Proto-Germanic skelfō (“shelf, ledge, cliff”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), distantly related to sculpt, carve and shell. Cognate with Dutch schelf (“hay loft, haystack”), German Low German Schelf (“haystack”), Old Norse skjalf (“bench”).
Of obscure origin; evidently identical to Middle English shelp (“sandbar in a river”), but the sound shift is unexpected. Shelp might be from Old English scylp (“crag”) or Middle Dutch schelp-.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.