English Explanatory Dictionary

shelter

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Somewhere one can find protection.
  2. A place where a person or animal may find protection from the elements (especially rain, storms, or cold) sometimes as a place to sleep (such as a cave).
  3. A bare-bones above-ground structure meant to provide temporary cover from the elements; usually small and with no door to close.
  4. A place for protection from deadly conditions outside, including military assault; usually partly or fully underground.
  5. A refuge, sanctuary, or (by metonymy) institution that provides temporary housing or a place to sleep for those in need or in danger.
  6. An animal shelter.
  7. That which provides protection or cover.
  8. The state of being protected or shielded.
verb
  1. To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.
  2. To take cover.

Pronunciation

/ˈʃɛltə/ /ˈʃɛltəɹ/ En-us-shelter.ogg

Word forms

shelter shelters sheltering sheltered

Etymology

From Middle English sheltron, sheldtrume (“roof or wall formed by locked shields”), from Old English sċildtruma, sċyldtruma (“a phalanx, company (of troops), a tortoise, a covering, shed, shelter”, literally “shield-troop”), from sċyld, sċield (“shield”) + truma (“a troop of soldiers”). Cognate with Scots schilthrum, schiltrum. More at shield, and Old English trymman (“to strengthen”), from trum (“strong, firm”) at trim. Doublet of sheltron (a kind of military formation), which is the more conservative of the two.

Synonyms

home

Related words

cover roof shed shield

Derived words

Adirondack shelter air-raid shelter Anderson shelter animal shelter bomb shelter bus shelter cooling shelter enshelter fallout shelter fall-out shelter homeless shelter inshelter kill shelter Morrison shelter night shelter no-kill shelter rock shelter shelterable shelterage shelter belt shelterbelt sheltercraft shelter deck shelter dog shelteree shelterer shelter half shelter-half shelterin shelter in place shelter-in-place shelterless sheltermate sheltersome shelter tent shelterwood sheltery tax shelter tornado shelter typhoon shelter waiting shelter women's shelter

Translations

Albanian: strehë Arabic: مَلَاذ Arabic: مَخْلَص Armenian: ապաստան Armenian: ապաստարան Azerbaijani: sığıncaq Azerbaijani: pənah Azerbaijani: daldalanacaq Basque: aterpe Belarusian: прыту́лак Belarusian: прыста́нішча Belarusian: прыста́нак Belarusian: укры́цце Belarusian: укрыццё Bengali: আশ্রয় Bengali: পানা Bulgarian: убе́жище Bulgarian: прию́т Burmese: အရိပ်အာဝါသ Catalan: aixopluc Catalan: recer Chinese Mandarin: 棲身之地 /栖身之地 Chinese Mandarin: 住處 /住处 Chinese Mandarin: 庇護 /庇护 Chinese Mandarin: 掩蔽 Czech: útočiště Old Czech: brh Danish: ly Dutch: onderdak Dutch: toevluchtsoord Dutch: hokje Dutch: schuilplaats Dutch: opvang Egyptian: k-A-p:V19 Egyptian: n-i-A-i-S36 Esperanto: ŝirmo Estonian: peavari Finnish: suojapaikka Finnish: turvapaikka Finnish: suoja Finnish: yömaja French: abri French: refuge Georgian: თავშესაფარი Georgian: ნავსაყუდელი Georgian: სავანე German: Zuflucht German: Obdach German: Zufluchtsort German: Schutzraum Greek: καταφύγιο Greek: άσυλο Greek: στέγη Ancient Greek: σκέπη Hebrew: מִקְלָט Hebrew: מַחֲסֶה Hindi: शरण Hindi: शरणालय Hindi: पनाह Hindi: पनाहगाह Hungarian: menedék Hungarian: védelem Hungarian: oltalom Hungarian: menedékhely Hungarian: óvóhely Hungarian: menedékház Hungarian: búvóhely Hungarian: fedett váró/megálló Hungarian: menhely Hungarian: hajléktalanszálló Icelandic: skjól Icelandic: athvarf Indonesian: penaungan Indonesian: penampungan Indonesian: tempat perlindungan Ingrian: varjo Irish: foscadh Irish: fothain Irish: dídean Italian: rifugio Italian: riparo Japanese: 避難所 Kabuverdianu: gazadju Kazakh: баспана Kazakh: пана Khmer: ជំរក Korean: 피난처 Kyrgyz: башкалка Ladin: sosta Lao: ທັບ Lao: ນິດໃສ Lao: ສາທະນະ Lao: ສ້ອງ
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