bookshelves

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bookshelf.

   Dust had settled on the bookshelves after months of neglect.

   The movers struggled to fit the heavy bookshelves through the narrow door.

   Note

   The plural follows the pattern of shelf and shelves: the final f becomes v before the ending, as in half and halves, so bookshelfs is a misspelling. The same spelling also serves as the verb meaning 'to fit with shelves'. Context separates them easily, since the noun takes articles and adjectives (the tall bookshelves) and the verb takes a subject and an object.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of bookshelve. A rare verb; the usual word is shelves.

   Note

   A verb form that needs an object, and the object is usually a room being fitted out with shelving: she bookshelves the attic. A rare figurative use means the same as plain shelve, putting a project aside for later. Ordinary shelve is the safer choice for that meaning, because readers will expect bookshelve to be about furniture.

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