to shelve

Examples

• All

• Had to shelve it, though, after the meltdown in sector three.

  Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

• Disappointment never banished hope exactly, but he was persuaded to shelve aspiration for a while and return to science.

  Fiction book (1990)

• "You might as well shelve it for now," I said.

  Fiction book (1999)

• I was busy with things but had to shelve some of them for a time.

  Blog text (18)

• So, now they're gonna exercise their right to shelve this film and go work on a big budget version.

  Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (2015)

• A few countries ordered immediate shutdowns of some plants or shelved plans for new reactor development.

  Academic text (2011)

• The very existence of the NEH was challenged, and this program was shelved.

  Academic text (1999)

• The U.S. is to shelve the Bush administration's plans for a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

  Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (2016)

• After three days of debate against it, the bill was indefinitely shelved with the dissolution of Parliament on 18 August 2000.

  Academic text (2006)

• The committee decided to shelve the proposal until further research could be conducted.

Synonyms

H

to hold

vsto shelve

∞ 1.3

To keep something for someone to use later

emphasizes stopping or postponing action, not merely keeping

P

to postpone

vsto shelve

214 3.4

To delay something until a later time because of a problem

also covers permanent cancellation as well as simple delays

P

to put off

vsto shelve

129 2.9

Delay something until a later time

can mean to stop a plan completely or just delay it

H

to hold off

vsto shelve

99 3.8

To wait before doing something

can involve permanently ending a plan instead of just delaying

D

to defer

vsto shelve

• Formal

68 5.5

To delay something until a later time

may imply permanent stopping as well as temporary delay

H

to hold back

vsto shelve

58 3.2

Keep something for later use

is more about ending or delaying plans than reserving items

S

to save for later

vsto shelve

29 3.0

Keep something to use at a later time

tends to mean stopping or postponing plans, not merely storing things

T

to table

vsto shelve

• Formal

20 7.3

To delay discussion or a decision about something until later

can mean abandon a plan rather than only postponing it

H

to hold over

vsto shelve

5 4.6

To keep something for use or sale after its planned time

usually means set aside or stop plans rather than extend timing

K

to keep on ice

vsto shelve

2 7.9

To delay something and keep it for later use

focuses more on stopping or postponing plans than reserving them

D

to drop the idea

vsto shelve

2 3.3

To decide not to continue with a plan or suggestion

may instead mean postponing or setting ideas aside temporarily

P

to put on ice

vsto shelve

2 5.8

To delay a plan or project for a while

can mean either permanent stopping or temporary postponement

K

to keep ideas fallow

vsto shelve

8.6

To leave ideas unused for a while so they can grow and be used later

is used for stopping or delaying projects, not just pausing growth

Antonyms

C

to continue

∞ 1.0

To keep doing something without stopping

How Permanent

to abandon

201 3.8

to scrap

67 3.7

to shelve

14 5.0

to defer

• Formal

68 5.5

to delay

442 1.4

to postpone

214 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology