noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈbʊkˌʃɛlf/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B UH1 K SH EH2 L F
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A shelf or shelves for storing books for easy visual reference.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: furniture, lifestyle
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a shelf on which to keep books
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: shelf
History
Etymology
From book + shelf.
Across languages
Translations
84 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
raft librash
— shelf for storing books
Arabic:
رَفّ كُتُب
(raff kutub)
— shelf for storing books
Arabic:
رَفُّ الْكُتُب
(raffu l-kutub)
— shelf for storing books
Armenian:
գրադարակ
(gradarak)
— shelf for storing books
Belarusian:
кні́жная палі́ца
(knížnaja palíca)
— shelf for storing books
Bulgarian:
ла́вица за кни́ги
(lávica za knígi)
— shelf for storing books
Bulgarian:
по́лица за кни́ги
(pólica za knígi)
— shelf for storing books
Chinese Cantonese:
書架 /书架
— shelf for storing books
Chinese Mandarin:
書架 /书架
(shūjià)
— shelf for storing books
Chinese Mandarin:
書櫥 /书橱
(shūchú)
— shelf for storing books
Czech:
knihovnička
— shelf for storing books
Danish:
bogreol
— shelf for storing books
Danish:
boghylde
— shelf for storing books
Dutch:
boekenkast
— shelf for storing books
Elfdalian:
buokill
— shelf for storing books
Esperanto:
libro-bretaro
— shelf for storing books
Esperanto:
librobreto
— shelf for storing books
Estonian:
raamaturiiul
— shelf for storing books
Faroese:
bókahill
— shelf for storing books
Finnish:
kirjahylly
— shelf for storing books
French:
bibliothèque
— shelf for storing books
French:
étagère
— shelf for storing books
Georgian:
წიგნების თარო
(c̣ignebis taro)
— shelf for storing books
German:
Regal
— shelf for storing books
German:
Bücherregal
— shelf for storing books
Greek:
ράφι για βιβλία
(ráfi gia vivlía)
— shelf for storing books
Greek:
βιβλιοθήκη
(vivliothíki)
— shelf for storing books
Greenlandic:
atuagaasivik
— shelf for storing books
Hebrew:
אֲרוֹן סְפָרִים
(arón s'farím)
— shelf for storing books
Hungarian:
könyvespolc
— shelf for storing books
Icelandic:
bókahilla
— shelf for storing books
Indonesian:
rak buku
— shelf for storing books
Irish:
seilf leabhar
— shelf for storing books
Italian:
libreria
— shelf for storing books
Japanese:
本棚
(hondana)
— shelf for storing books
Japanese:
書架
(shoka)
— shelf for storing books
Japanese:
書棚
(shodana)
— shelf for storing books
Khmer:
ធ្នើរសៀវភៅ
(thnəə siəw phɨw)
— shelf for storing books
Korean:
책장
(chaekjang)
— shelf for storing books
Korean:
책꽂이
(chaekkkoji)
— shelf for storing books
Latin:
foruli
— shelf for storing books
Latin:
pluteus
— shelf for storing books
Latvian:
grāmatu plaukts
— shelf for storing books
Latvian:
grāmatplaukts
— shelf for storing books
Lithuanian:
knygų lentyna
— shelf for storing books
Lü:
ᦠᦱᧂᧉᦗᦸᧇ
(ḣaang2poab)
— shelf for storing books
Luxembourgish:
Bicherschaf
— shelf for storing books
Macedonian:
полица за книги
(polica za knigi)
— shelf for storing books
Maltese:
librerija
— shelf for storing books
Māori:
whata pukapuka
— shelf for storing books
Norwegian Bokmål:
bokhylle
— shelf for storing books
