as in delays
to assign to a later time
let's shelve the project for now
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Recent Examples of shelves
The result was a fun cameo arc that ends on the image of Scorsese breaking down in tears after Matt shelves the iconic director’s dream project to save his own job — a turn that earned Scorsese his first acting nomination.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2025
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelves
Verb
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When an airport cancels or delays a flight, that means additional cargo is delayed.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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This practice erodes programming, delays medical care, and increases fatigue and safety risks for everyone inside federal prisons.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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At best, the push postpones the cross-medium renaissance Hollywood has been predicting for more than 30 years.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2025
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Jeff Bezos' company postpones New Glenn launch New Glenn was fueled up and vertical on the launch pad ahead of an impending launch before Blue Origin ultimately called it off about 90 minutes after the window opened.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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By comparison, the federal Bureau of Prisons currently holds over 153,000 inmates.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
21 Jan. 2026
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The platform now holds over $500 billion in crypto assets, a figure that grew fivefold in three years.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shelves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelves. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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