shelter

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.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɛltə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɛltɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛltə(ɹ)
• Homophone: Shelta (non-rhotic)

shelter (plural shelters)

1. (countable) Somewhere one can find protection.
   1. 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).

      The band of explorers found a shelter behind the waterfall, which they rested at for three days.

      rock shelter

   2. (usually as the head in compounds) A bare-bones above-ground structure meant to provide temporary cover from the elements; usually small and with no door to close.
      • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled!‎^[1]:

        The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.

      bus shelter

      waiting shelter

   3. A place for protection from deadly conditions outside, including military assault; usually partly or fully underground.

      tornado shelter

      fallout shelter

      air-raid shelter

   4. A refuge, sanctuary, or (by metonymy) institution that provides temporary housing or a place to sleep for those in need or in danger.

      Synonym: home (in compounds)

      women's shelter

      homeless shelter

      1. (often with the definite article) An animal shelter.

         I wish more people would look for pets at the shelter before turning to breeders!

         kill shelter

2. (uncountable) That which provides protection or cover.

   Along with air, water, and food, shelter is often recognized as a human necessity.

3. (uncountable, abstract) The state of being protected or shielded.

The countable noun shelter has accumulated a variety of specialized meanings that all fall within the general sense of "something that provides protection". Usually, the countable use of shelter is used in implicit reference to one of the specialized senses of shelter (such as an animal shelter, homeless shelter, bomb shelter, etc.).

shelter (third-person singular simple present shelters, present participle sheltering, simple past and past participle sheltered)

1. (transitive) To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.
   • 1663, John Dryden, Epistle to Dr. Charleton:

     Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.

   • 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society:

     You have no convents […] in which such persons may be received and sheltered.

2. (intransitive) To take cover.

   During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.

• Ehlerts, Hertels, Shetler, Strehle, helters, three Ls