Added 8 October 2026

shelter

/ˈʃɛltə/ noun

In Latin: tegmen, suffugium, tūtum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shelter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Somewhere one can find protection. A place where a person or animal may find protection from the elements (especially rain, storms, or cold) sometimes as a place to sleep (such as a cave).
The band of explorers found a shelter behind the waterfall, which they rested at for three days.
A place where a person or animal may find protection from the elements (especially rain, storms, or cold) sometimes as a place to sleep (such as a cave).
The band of explorers found a shelter behind the waterfall, which they rested at for three days.
A bare-bones above-ground structure meant to provide temporary cover from the elements; usually small and with no door to close.
bus shelter

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.