How do you use the word "shelf" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "shelf": Your comic books are on the shelf. Which way is the cheese shelf?

Shelf Meaning

/ʃɛlf/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects.

nounThe capacity of such an object

Sentence Examples

Your comic books are on the shelf.

Which way is the cheese shelf?

Put it on the shelf above.

CEFR Practice Quiz

I stored the jars on the highest ____ in the kitchen.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

She reached for a dusty book on the highest ____ of the library's history section.

Word Origin & History

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”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare." — 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, retrieved 31 Oct 2012:

"In 1981, China's Ministry of Geology surveyed the Taiwan Banks area and reported the following features: The Southern Basin (Taiwan Qian Tan) is situated approximately 200 km (124 mi) south-east of Swatao City and about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the Taiwan Banks on the transition between shelf and slope in water depths of 50 to 200 m (164 to 656 ft)." — 1985, Mark J. Valencia, “Issues: Hydrocarbon Potential and Jurisdictional Disputes”, in South-East Asian Seas: Oil Under Troubled Waters: Hydrocarbon Potential, Jurisdictional Issues, and International Relations, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 103:

"This is where the Visual Studio Shelving function can help. A shelf is a place on the server in source control that is separate from the main code line so it will not affect other developers." — 2012, Bradley Irby, Reengineering .NET:

"A shelveset allows you to store a changeset on the server without adding it to the current codebase and sharing it with team members directly. Each team member has his own “shelf,” where he can store as many shelvesets as he wants." — 2016, Wouter de Kort, DevOps on the Microsoft Stack, page 114:

"But with a ſlaw ſuddein chauffing ſtorm-bringer Orion, / Spurnt vs too the waters: then ſootherne ſwaſhruter huffling / Flung vs on high ſhelueflats, to the rocks vs he buffeted after." — 1582, Virgil, “The Firste Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 21:

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