shelf

The word “shelf” means a flat board fixed to a wall or cabinet, used for holding or displaying objects. In plain terms, a flat surface for storing things, whether in a cupboard or in nature (like a rock ledge or the sea floor).

“Shelf” is pronounced shehlf (/ʃɛlf/ in IPA).

Here is “shelf” used in a sentence: “She lined the top shelf with her favourite novels.”

“Shelf” is a noun.

The word “shelf” comes from Old English. From Old English sċylfe, related to words in Dutch and German for a haystack or ledge.

“Shelf” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Shelf” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a flat board fixed to a wall or cabinet, used for holding or displaying objects.

The plural of shelf is shelves, with the f changing to v, following the same pattern as leaf/leaves and loaf/loaves. The related verb is shelve, meaning to place something on a shelf or to set a plan aside.

A continental shelf is the gently sloping ledge of seabed that extends from a coastline before the ocean floor drops steeply away. It uses the sense of shelf meaning a flat ledge that juts out, the same idea behind an ice shelf or a rock shelf.