Definition of "shelf" []

• A flat, usually rectangular structure composed of a rigid material, such as wood, glass, or metal, fixed at right angles to a wall or other vertical surface and used to hold or store objects. (noun)
• The contents or capacity of such a structure. (noun)
• Something, such as a projecting ledge of rock or a balcony, that resembles such a structure. (noun)
• A reef, sandbar, or shoal. (noun)
• Bedrock. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "_Shaab-al-Yadayn_, it is to be noted that it is a great shelf far to seaward of the northern end of the great bay, all of it above water, like two extended arms with their hands wide open, whence its Arabic name which signifies _shelf of the hands_."
• "The term shelf life refers to how long an item can remain in storage and still be functional."
• "When I here the term shelf, I think of the ice as a cantilevered beam with little structural support underneath, attempting to support it's own weight."