shel·ter
(shĕĺtər)
[Perhaps from Middle English sheltron, tight battle formation, from Old English scildtruma, scield, shield; see shield, + truma, troop.]
noun
- Something that provides cover or protection, as from the weather.
- A refuge; a haven.
- An establishment that provides temporary housing for homeless people.
- The state of being covered or protected.
verb: -tered, -ter·ing, -ters.
transitive verb
- To provide cover or protection for.
- To invest (income) to protect it from taxation.
intransitive verb
- To take cover; find refuge.
derivatives
- sheĺter·er
- noun
- sheĺter·less
- adjective
synonyms:
shelter, cover, retreat, refuge, asylum, sanctuary These nouns refer to places affording protection, as from danger, or to the state of being protected. Shelter usually implies a covered or enclosed area that protects temporarily, as from injury or attack: built a shelter out of pine and hemlock boughs. Cover suggests something that conceals: traveled under cover of darkness. Retreat applies chiefly to a secluded place to which one retires for meditation, peace, or privacy: a rural cabin that served as a weekend retreat. Refuge suggests a place of escape from pursuit or from difficulties that beset one: “The great advantage of a hotel is that it's a refuge from home life” (George Bernard Shaw) Asylum adds to refuge the idea of legal protection or of immunity from arrest: “O! receive the fugitive and prepare in time an asylum for mankind” (Thomas Paine) Sanctuary denotes a sacred or inviolable place of refuge: political refugees finding sanctuary in a monastery.
