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Definition of "shelter" []

  • Something that provides cover or protection, as from the weather. (noun)
  • A refuge; a haven. (noun)
  • An establishment that provides temporary housing for homeless people. (noun)
  • The state of being covered or protected. (noun)
  • To provide cover or protection for. (verb-transitive)

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.

Use "shelter" in a sentence
  • "They have about 350 beds at about 15 locations around throughout the City and since they are self-managed, the cost per person sheltered at a SHARE shelter is 1/3 to 1/10 (costs range greatly depending on the case management needs of folks in shelter) of what it costs the city to fund other shelters."
  • "The term "shelter" magazine is used for the most upscale home magazines, which focus on living well."
  • "Being the humanitarian that I am, I obligingly pulled out my pocket knife – I carry a pocket knife because the walk from the parking garage to the shelter is about 1/4 of a mile and it is a sketchy neighborhood – but anyway I pulled out my pocket knife and I got it off for him."