SHELF

[noun] [C] [plural] shelves - a long flat board fixed horizontally usually against a wall or inside a cupboard so that objects can be stored on itOne wall had shelves from floor to ceiling, crammed with books.She has some glass shelves in her living room, with photographs of her family on them.He's got a temporary job stacking (= putting goods onto) shelves at the supermarket.Shops have removed all jars of the baby food from their shelves (= made them not available for sale) following reports that it has been contaminated.See also bookshelf.See picture: Living room(specialized) A shelf is also a flat area of rock underwater or on a cliff.If a product can be bought off the shelf, it does not need to be specially made or requested: It's often cheaper if you buy wallpaper off the shelf/if you buy off-the-shelf wallpaper, rather than having to order it.If something is, or is left, on the shelf, no notice is taken of it and it is not used for anything.Many of their wedding presents have just been left on the shelf.(esp. [UK and ANZ] [informal]) If you say that someone, esp. a woman, is on the shelf, you mean that they are now too old for anyone to want to marry them.In those days, if you hadn't married by the time you were 30, you were definitely on the shelf.The shelf life of a product, esp. food, is the length of time it can be kept in a shop before it becomes too old to be sold or used.Shelf space is the amount of space on shelves that is available to be used.The bookstore is devoting a lot of shelf space to the former prime minister's autobiography.