shelter

noun

1. (countable)Somewhere one can find protection.

   “The band of explorers found a shelter behind the waterfall, which they rested at for three days.”

   “rock shelter”

2. (countable, usually)Somewhere one can find protection.

   “The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.”

   “bus shelter”

   “waiting shelter”

3. (countable)Somewhere one can find protection.

   “tornado shelter”

   “fallout shelter”

   “air-raid shelter”

4. (countable)Somewhere one can find protection.

   “(in compounds)”

   “women's shelter”

   “homeless shelter”

5. (countable, often)Somewhere one can find protection.

   “I wish more people would look for pets at the shelter before turning to breeders!”

   “kill shelter”

6. (uncountable)That which provides protection or cover.

   “Along with air, water, and food, shelter is often recognized as a human necessity.”

7. (abstract, uncountable)The state of being protected or shielded.

verb

1. (transitive)To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.

   “Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.”

   “You have no convents […] in which such persons may be received and sheltered.”

2. (intransitive)To take cover.

   “During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.”