shelves

verb

present tense third-person singular of shelve
as in delays
to assign to a later time let's shelve the project for now

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shelves Clean the wood cabinet doors monthly and the interior shelves every three to six months. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Mar. 2026 The result was a fun cameo arc that ends on the image of Scorsese breaking down in tears after Matt shelves the iconic director’s dream project to save his own job — a turn that earned Scorsese his first acting nomination. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelves
  1. delays
  2. postpones
  3. holds over
Verb
  • Even if Illinois delays its natural gas plant closings, the state will need more batteries, and Richardson is rushing to provide them.
    — John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In this scenario, the heart attack now drives the pricing, while the prostate cancer delays the application.
    — Howard Wolinsky, STAT, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • The injury postpones any plans to send the 20-year-old out on loan.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Or someone managing diabetes who postpones a preventive visit because grocery shopping, prescription pickups, and coordinating multiple specialists compete for limited time and energy.
    — Aimée K. Dailey, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of postpones
Verb
  • His phone holds over 11,000 voice memos, many of them musical ideas.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Pacific time, It will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which holds over 100,000 spectators.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of holds over

Browse Nearby Words

shelved
shelves
shelving
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shelves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelves. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All