From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsheltershel‧ter1 /ˈʃeltə $ -ər/ ●●○ W3 noun 1 [uncountable]TBHOME a place to live, considered as one of the basic needs of life They are in need of food and shelter.2 [uncountable]PROTECT protection from danger or from wind, rain, hot sun etcshelter of We reached the shelter of the caves.in/into/under etc the shelter of something They were standing under the shelter of a huge tree. The men took shelter in a bombed-out farmhouse. All around me, people were running for shelter.shelter from An old hut gave shelter from the storm.3 [countable] a building where people or animals that have nowhere to live or that are in danger can stay and receive helpshelter for a shelter for battered women a homeless shelter (=for people who have no homes) an animal shelter4 [countable]TB a building or an area with a roof over it that protects you from the weather or from dangerair-raid/bomb/fall-out shelter (=a place to keep people safe from bombs dropped by planes)bus shelter British English (=a small structure with a roof where you wait for a bus) → tax shelterCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: protection from danger or from wind, rain, hot sun etcverbstake shelter (=go into a place where you are protected from something)When it started raining, they took shelter in a cave.find shelterHe slept wherever he could find shelter.seek shelter formal (=try to find shelter)They sought shelter under the trees.run for shelterThe residents were running for shelter from the bombing.give/provide shelterThe trees gave shelter from the wind.
Examples from the Corpus
shelter• a shelter for battered women• They are in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter.• a bus shelter• It provides food, shelter and case management for more than 70 families at one time.• a homeless shelter• It is a good, hardy community fish, though a little shy, so provide plenty of shelter.• an air-raid shelter• Tanya remained in Pennsylvania but went to live in a runaway shelter and then in a group home.• Late one night, he stopped at the gates of a Franciscan monastery to seek shelter.• Ash could accumulate on rooftops, causing them to collapse on people seeking shelter in the vicinity of the volcano.• They jointly chose to ignore their employer's orders and statutory safety regulations, by testing detonators without taking shelter.• And what if she were to leave the shelter of the house?• Then the Jesuit volunteers pushed open the shelter doors and the worshipers followed the cross into a misty rain.• We eventually reached the shelter of the caves.in/into/under etc the shelter of something• Instinctively, he hung back in the shelter of a rock.• Arkhina had moved calmly into the shelter of the high stone wall.• There are just three houses there; three seventeenth-century stone-built farmhouses nestling comfortably in the shelter of a little valley.• A County-model Land-Rover had been backed up against a stack of firewood in the shelter of a thatched carport.• I froze in the shelter of my rock, but the glasses were aimed higher, at the tent.• Along the quay in the shelter of these ancient walls is an old world full of interest.• We ran into the shelter of Murchison Fiord, which is on the west side of Nordaustlandet.• Instinct told her to find somewhere to lie up, so she turned unsteadily into the shelter of the trees.homeless shelter• They lived in a homeless shelter until a room opened up at the Reiss Hotel.• They never had enough money, so they lived in various hotels, apartments and homeless shelters.• They lived in hotels and homeless shelters.• Everyone knew that would drive up spending on welfare and homeless shelters.• They enjoyed researching everything from homeless shelters to environmental advocacy groups.• Last month, children accounted for 1,412 of the 5,299 people living in homeless shelters in the city.air-raid/bomb/fall-out shelter• The only thing less suited to the big screen would be a movie set in a bomb shelter.• Abandoned air-raid shelters became improvised and treacherous playgrounds for the children of the blitz.• But we talk about this and we talk about that-remember how we used to talk about air-raid shelters?• Feb. 13 At least 300 civilians killed in allied attack on Baghdad bomb shelter.• They even went down to the basement bomb shelter and shook pillows.• Until church members complete a sewer system, they have been forbidden to use their newly hewn bomb shelters.• New electric lighting was installed in the cellars, soon to become the air-raid shelters.sheltershelter2 ●○○ verb 1 [transitive]PROTECT to provide a place where someone or something is protected, especially from the weather or from danger Collins was arrested for sheltering enemy soldiers.shelter somebody/something from somebody/something Plant herbs next to a wall to shelter them from the wind.► see thesaurus at protect2 [intransitive]PROTECT to stay in or under a place where you are protected from the weather or from dangershelter from We sat in the shade, sheltering from the sun.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
shelter• But the shimmering white minaret, and the impressive dome, designed to shelter 3,500 worshippers, are deceptive.• He himself and his staff would certainly die as well, and Lobethal would no longer shelter anyone.• Beyond this rose the green hill that sheltered Applegarth.• Federal agents knew the family had been sheltering criminals in their home.• But the final figure may never be known for the flats were notorious for sheltering illegal immigrants.• They risked their own lives sheltering Jews from the Nazis.• Sometimes he would be away for two or three days, spending his nights in a sheltered nook known as the Cave.• Police are appealing to anyone who may be sheltering the wanted man to come forward.• An umbrella sheltered them from the sun.• He had been sheltering under the eaves.ShelterShelter trademark a British charity organization that helps people who are homeless (=do not have a home to live in)Origin shelter1 (1500-1600) Perhaps from sheltron “group of fighting soldiers protected by shields” ((11-16 centuries)), from Old English scieldtruma, from scield “shield” + truma “group of soldiers” 