noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ high , low
▪ deep
▪ bottom , middle , top
▪
He took a book down from the top ~.
▪ bare , empty
▪ open
▪ dusty
▪ glass , metal , wooden
▪ book (usually bookshelf ) , CD , DVD , video
▪ bathroom , kitchen , library , shop ( BrE ), store ( esp. AmE ), supermarket
▪
The supermarket shelves were bare.
▪ closet ( esp. AmE )
VERB + SHELF
▪ have
▪
The cabinet has three shelves.
▪ build , put up
▪
She soon learned how to put up her own shelves.
▪ arrange sth on , display sth on , put sth (back) on , replace sth on , return sth to , stack sth on
▪
I put the box back on the ~.
▪ restock , stack ( esp. BrE ), stock ( AmE )
▪
He has a job stacking/stocking shelves.
▪ fill , line , pack
▪
The shelves were packed with dolls of every shape and size.
▪
Hundreds of books lined the shelves.
▪ clear
▪
I've cleared a ~ in the bedroom for you.
▪ get sth (down) from , get sth (down) off , pick sth from , pick sth off , remove sth from , take sth (down) from , take sth (down) off
▪
They immediately removed the product from their shelves.
▪ fit on , fit onto , go on , remain on , sit on
▪
Souvenirs filled the shelves.
▪
Her diaries just sat on the ~ for years (= nobody looked at them) .
▪ browse , scan , scour , search
▪
She scanned the shelves of the library for new books.
▪ reach
▪
I can't reach the top ~.
▪ reach for
▪
She reached for the ~ next to the bed.
SHELF + VERB
▪ be full of sth , contain sth , hold sth
▪ line
▪
Shelves lined the walls behind the long counter.
SHELF + NOUN
▪ space
▪ life
▪
The medicine has a ~ life of six months.
PREPOSITION
▪ off a/the ~
▪
I knocked it off the ~ by accident.
▪ on a/the ~
▪
the books on the shelves
▪ ~ of
▪
a ~ of books on economics
PHRASES
▪ be filled with shelves , be lined with shelves
▪
The walls of her study were lined with shelves.
▪ a place on your shelves
▪
The book deserves a place on everyone's shelves.
▪ hit the shelves ( figurative )
▪
Their new CD hits the shelves in May.
▪ fly off the shelves ( both figurative )
▪
The DVD is flying off the shelves.