shelter

B1 Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈʃɛltəɹ/ UK /ˈʃɛltə/ See IPA manual

Freq #3358

Meanings

1

noun
A place that gives protection from bad weather or danger.

The hikers found shelter behind a large rock during the storm.
2

noun
Protection or safety, especially from weather or harm.

Along with food and water, shelter is a basic human need.
3

verb
To protect someone or something from danger or bad weather.

The thick walls sheltered the village from the cold wind.
4

verb
To take cover from bad weather or danger.

During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms shelteredshelteringshelters

Derived forms enshelterinsheltershelter-halfshelter-in-placeshelterableshelterageshelterbeltsheltercraftsheltereeshelterershelterinshelterless

Related forms cover roof shed shield

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

fallout shelter
a protected space intended to reduce exposure to radioactive fallout

Noun + noun

Etymology

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.

sheltron Middle English sċildtruma Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# shelter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃɛltəɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʃɛltə/
**Frequency rank:** 3358

## Meanings
1. A place that gives protection from bad weather or danger.
2. Protection or safety, especially from weather or harm.
3. To protect someone or something from danger or bad weather.
4. To take cover from bad weather or danger.

## Examples
- The hikers found shelter behind a large rock during the storm.
- Along with food and water, shelter is a basic human need.
- The thick walls sheltered the village from the cold wind.
- During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.

## Derived Forms
- enshelter
- inshelter
- shelter-half
- shelter-in-place
- shelterable
- shelterage
- shelterbelt
- sheltercraft
- shelteree
- shelterer
- shelterin
- shelterless

## Related Forms
- cover
- roof
- shed
- shield

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sheltron
- Root: sċildtruma

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Shelter is 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. Important forms in the word's history include Middle English sheltron, Old English sċildtruma. In current use it includes senses such as A place that gives protection from bad weather or danger and Protection or safety, especially from weather or harm.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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