Definition of 'shelter'
Word forms: shelters plural3rd person singular present tense, sheltering present participle, sheltered past tense past participle
1. countable noun
A shelter is a small building or covered place which is made to protect people from bad weather
or danger.
2. uncountable noun
If a place provides shelter, it provides you with a place to stay or live, especially when you need protection
from bad weather or danger.
3. countable noun
A shelter is a building where homeless people can sleep and get food.
4. intransitive verb
If you shelter in a place, you stay there and are protected from bad weather or danger.
5. transitive verb [usu passive]
6. transitive verb
If you shelter someone, usually someone who is being hunted by police or other people, you provide
them with a place to stay or live.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
shelter
American English pronunciation
British English pronunciation
Word Frequency
shelter in American English
noun
1.
something that covers or protects; protection, or place affording protection, as
from the elements or danger
2.
the state of being covered or protected; protection; refuge
verb transitive
4.
to provide shelter or refuge for; protect
verb intransitive
SYNONYMY NOTE: shelter implies the protection of something that covers, as a roof or other structure that
shields one from the elements or danger [to find shelter from the rain]; refuge suggests a place of safety that one flees to in escaping danger or difficulties [he sought political refuge in France]; retreat implies retirement from that which threatens one's peace, and withdrawal to a safe,
quiet, or secluded place [a country retreat]; asylum is applied to a refuge where one is immune from seizure or harm, as because it is
beyond a particular legal jurisdiction [the convict sought asylum abroad]; a sanctuary is an asylum that has a sacred or inviolable character [the former right of sanctuary in churches]5.
to find protection or refuge
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
shelterer (ˈshelterer)
noun
shelterless (ˈshelterless)
adjective
Word Frequency
shelter in American English
(ˈʃeltər)
noun
1.
2.
the protection or refuge afforded by such a thing
He took shelter in a nearby barn
3.
protection from blame, incrimination, etc.
4.
Everyone's basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter
5.
transitive verb
7.
to be a shelter for; afford shelter to
The old barn sheltered him from the rain
8.
to provide with a shelter; place under cover
9.
to protect, as by shelter; take under one's protection
Parents should not try to shelter their children from normal childhood disappointments
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. retreat, asylum, sanctuary, shield, haven, harbor. See cover. 7. harbor, house. 9. guard, safeguard, shield, defend.11.
to take shelter; find a refuge
He sheltered in a barn
12. Finance
to invest money in a tax shelter
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
shelterer noun
shelteringly
adverb
shelterless
adjective
shelterlessness
noun
Word origin
[1575–85; perh. alter. of obs. sheltron testudo, OE scieldtruma, equiv. to scield shield + truma body of fighting men; see trim]Word Frequency
shelter in British English
verb
6. (transitive)
to act as a shelter for; take under one's protection
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
shelterer (ˈshelterer) noun
shelterless (ˈshelterless)
adjective
Word origin
C16: of uncertain origin
Examples of 'shelter' in a sentence
shelter
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In other languages
shelter
British English: shelter
/ˈʃɛltə/ NOUN
A shelter is a small building or covered place which is made to protect people from bad weather or danger.
...a bus shelter.
- American English: shelter /ˈʃɛltər/
- Arabic: مَلْجَأ
- Brazilian Portuguese: abrigo
- Chinese: 掩蔽处
- Croatian: sklonište
- Czech: přístřešek
- Danish: ly
- Dutch: schuilgelegenheid
- European Spanish: cobijo
- Finnish: suoja
- French: abri
- German: Obdach
- Greek: καταφύγιο
- Italian: rifugio
- Japanese: 避難所
- Korean: 대피소
- Norwegian: ly
- Polish: schronienie
- European Portuguese: abrigo
- Romanian: adăpost
- Russian: убежище
- Spanish: refugio
- Swedish: skydd
- Thai: ที่กำบัง, ศาลา
- Turkish: barınak
- Ukrainian: притулок
- Vietnamese: nơi trú ẩn
British English: shelter
VERB /ˈʃɛltə/
person If you shelter in a place, you stay there and are protected from bad weather or danger.
...a man sheltering in a doorway.
- American English: shelter /ˈʃɛltər/
- Brazilian Portuguese: abrigar-se
- Chinese: 躲藏
- European Spanish: refugiarse
- French: s'abriter
- German: sich unterstellen
- Italian: ripararsi
- Japanese: 避難する
- Korean: 기거하다
- European Portuguese: abrigar-se
- Spanish: refugiarse
- Thai: หลบภัย หลบลมหรือฝน
British English: shelter
VERB /ˈʃɛltə/
place If a place or thing is sheltered by something, it is protected by that thing from wind and rain.
...a wooden house, sheltered by a low pointed roof.
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Definition of shelter from the Collins English Dictionary
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