shelter in place
1 of 2phrase
: to remain inside in one's current location until a danger has passed : to temporarily take shelter in a protected space
The … campus was placed under lockdown in response to the shooting. People on campus were advised to shelter in place. No students were hurt or endangered, the school said.—
Julia Jacobo
Julia JacoboThese communities—including our own—need to start hardening themselves against future fires. That means preparing homes for fires the way we already do for earthquakes and floods. It also means developing better alert systems, heeding evacuation warnings when they come and being prepared to shelter in place when escape routes are cut off …—The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California)
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California)
variants
or less commonly shelter in place
: instructing or requiring people to remain in their current location until a danger has passed
The governor has issued a shelter-in-place order.
: of or relating to sheltering in place
shelter-in-place drills
Examples of shelter in place in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 28 Dec. 2025
Several lanes of the 5 Freeway have been closed and a shelter-in-place order has been issued to residents in Castaic after a gas line ruptured on Saturday.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Local media outlets reported that officials lifted a shelter-in-place order that was in effect in parts of northern Los Angeles County near Castaic, California.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 27 Dec. 2025
Brown's campus and parts of the surrounding neighborhood were ordered to shelter-in-place.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shelter in place
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
The shelter-in-place impacted more than 14,000 residents.
—Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 28 Dec. 2025
Several lanes of the 5 Freeway have been closed and a shelter-in-place order has been issued to residents in Castaic after a gas line ruptured on Saturday.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Local media outlets reported that officials lifted a shelter-in-place order that was in effect in parts of northern Los Angeles County near Castaic, California.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 27 Dec. 2025
Brown's campus and parts of the surrounding neighborhood were ordered to shelter-in-place.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shelter in place
Cite this Entry
“Shelter in place.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shelter%20in%20place. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share