From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshelveshelve /ʃelv/ verb 1 [transitive]CANCEL to decide not to continue with a plan, idea etc, although you might continue with it at a later time Plans to reopen the school have been shelved.► see thesaurus at cancel2 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]HORIZONTAL# land that shelves is at a slight angle The garden shelves gently towards the sea.3 [transitive]PUT to put something on a shelf, especially books→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
shelve• Only a few delegates sensed that pressing problems had been shelved.• All of this information can be discovered by checking with those who work at the circulation desk and those who shelve books.• Plans for the new stadium have been shelved due to a lack of funding.• Plans for a new stadium have been shelved for now.• Every inch of space in the tiny shop was crammed with goods, piled, stacked and shelved in chaotic order.• I bundle it away into its folder and shelve it.• The beach was long, flat and shelved so gently that no normal vessel could have come ashore without running aground.• The city shelved the project due to lack of funding.Plans ... shelved• The project never happened, plans were shelved.From Longman Business Dictionaryshelveshelve /ʃelv/ verb [transitive] to decide not to continue with a plan, idea etc, although you might continue with it at a later timePlans for the project have been shelved.The company agreed to shelve its 300 billion warrant-bond issue.→ See Verb tableOrigin shelve (1500-1600) shelves, plural of shelf 