From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshelfshelf /ʃelf/ ●●● S3 W3 noun (plural shelves /ʃelvz/) 1 [countable]DHF a long flat narrow board attached to a wall or in a frame or cupboard, used for putting things ontop/bottom/next etc shelf Put it back on the top shelf. shelves of books supermarket shelves the amount of shelf space available2 [countable]HEG a narrow surface of rock shaped like a shelf, especially under water → continental shelf3 → on the shelf → off-the-shelf, shelve(3)
Examples from the Corpus
shelf• shelves of books• Normally Flake bars have a shelf life of just nine months.• Her daughters would giggle over the odd doodles they found in kitchen drawers or on the back shelf of the downstairs toilet.• The next shelf we stopped on was filled with farm animals.• supermarket shelves• An interesting book hits the shelves next month involving former baseball great Tug McGraw.• I empty the soil in it and put it on the shelf.• Like any other book, its popularity will last for a moment, but it will remain on the shelves.• Now the telephone had acquired a personality, sat on the shelf so smug, taunting her with its silence.• Put it back on the top shelf.top/bottom/next etc shelf• The food and wine choices are top shelf and usually laid out on the linen-covered hood of a car.• She pointed to a pile of books on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.• Three fresh eggs lay in a small bowl on the top shelf in Freda's kitchen.• Miles likes to set up 105 his books alphabetically, with favorites on the top shelf and special baskets for series books.• Set a cup of water on the top shelf or sprinkle the newspapers lightly with water.• The small packets were on the bottom shelf, medium on the middle shelf and large packets on the top.• The next shelf we stopped on was filled with farm animals.• The top shelf is where Gay Times is traditionally to be found, nestling coyly next to Penthouse.Origin shelf (1300-1400) Middle Low German schelf 