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shelter

Shelter is one of the basic human needs along with food, water, and companionship. It is a structure that protects you from the elements and gives you a place to live.

If you get lost in the woods during a rain storm, the first thing you should do is seek shelter, or a protected place to stay. A shelter is also a place to go for help, e.g. a homeless shelter is for those with nowhere to sleep, a bomb shelter protects people in a war zone and an animal shelter houses dogs and cats without a home. You've probably heard people talking about tax shelters, which are investments that protect your money from being taxed by the government.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: shelter

1	n v	protective covering that provides protection from the weather provide shelter for
2	n v	a way of organizing business to reduce the taxes it must pay on current earnings invest (money) so that it is not taxable

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: shelter

n protective covering that provides protection from the weather

Types:: show 17 types...; hide 17 types...; bell cot, bell cote
a small shelter for bells; has a gable or shed roof; birdhouse
a shelter for birds; canopy
a covering (usually of cloth) that serves as a roof to shelter an area from the weather; cote
a small shelter for domestic animals (as sheep or pigeons); dog house, doghouse, kennel
outbuilding that serves as a shelter for a dog; lean-to
rough shelter whose roof has only one slope; roost
a shelter with perches for fowl or other birds; sconce
a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather; sentry box
a small shelter with an open front to protect a sentry from the weather; awning, sunblind, sunshade
a canopy made of canvas to shelter people or things from rain or sun; baldachin
ornamented canopy supported by columns or suspended from a roof or projected from a wall (as over an altar); columbarium, columbary, dovecote
a birdhouse for pigeons; henroost
a roost for hens at night; marquee, marquise
permanent canopy over an entrance of a hotel etc.; porte-cochere
canopy extending out from a building entrance to shelter those getting in and out of vehicles; tester
a flat canopy (especially one over a four-poster bed); umbrella
a lightweight handheld collapsible canopy

Type of:: protection, protective cover, protective covering
a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury

n a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger

Types:: show 35 types...; hide 35 types...; cookhouse
a detached or outdoor shelter for cooking; dugout
either of two low shelters on either side of a baseball diamond where the players and coaches sit during the game; fallout shelter
a shelter to protect occupants from the fallout from an atomic bomb; haven, oasis
a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary; hovel, hut, hutch, shack, shanty
small crude shelter used as a dwelling; army hut, field hut, hut
temporary military shelter; loft, pigeon loft
a raised shelter in which pigeons are kept; mantelet, mantlet
portable bulletproof shelter; asylum, refuge, sanctuary
a shelter from danger or hardship; sconce
a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather; cyclone cellar, storm cellar, tornado cellar
an underground shelter where you can go until a storm passes; collapsible shelter, tent
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs); backpacking tent, pack tent
a tent that can be carried in a backpack; bell tent
a bell-shaped tent; cabana
a small tent used as a dressing room beside the sea or a swimming pool; canvas, canvas tent, canvass
a tent made of canvas fabric; cottage tent
a tent providing shelter for a family; fly tent
a tent with a fly front; harbor, harbour
a place of refuge and comfort and security; igloo, iglu
an Eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome; lean-to tent
tent that is attached to the side of a building; mountain tent
a lightweight tent with a floor; flaps close with a zipper; mudhif
a reed hut in the marshlands of Iraq; rare since the marshes were drained; Nissen hut, Quonset hut
a prefabricated hut of corrugated iron having a semicircular cross section; marquee, pavilion
large and often sumptuous tent; pop tent
a small tent that is easy to carry and quick to set up; praetorium, pretorium
the tent of an ancient Roman general; pup tent, shelter tent
a wedge-shaped tent; usually without a floor or windows; pyramidal tent
a large tent shaped like a pyramid; can hold half a dozen people; safehold
a refuge from attack; safe house
a house used as a hiding place or refuge by members of certain organizations; teepee, tepee, tipi
a Native American tent; usually of conical shape; sealskin tent, tupek, tupik
tent that is an Eskimo summer dwelling; two-man tent
a tent designed for occupancy by two persons; umbrella tent
a small tent with a single supporting pole and radiating metal ribs

Type of:: construction, structure
a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

n temporary housing for homeless or displaced persons

Types:: camp, refugee camp
shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression or for religious beliefs

Type of:: housing, living accommodations, lodging
structures collectively in which people are housed

n the condition of being protected

Synonyms:: protection

Types:: indemnity, insurance
protection against future loss; radioprotection
protection against harmful effects of radiation

Type of:: security
the state of being free from danger or injury

v provide shelter for

“After the earthquake, the government could not provide shelter for the thousands of homeless people”

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; domiciliate, house, put up
provide housing for; kennel
put up in a kennel; stable
shelter in a stable; stall
put into, or keep in, a stall; harbor, harbour
secretly shelter (as of fugitives or criminals); rehouse
put up in a new or different housing; home
provide with, or send to, a home; accommodate, lodge
provide housing for; chamber
place in a chamber; take in
provide with shelter

Type of:: furnish, provide, render, supply
give something useful or necessary to

n a way of organizing business to reduce the taxes it must pay on current earnings

Synonyms:: tax shelter

Type of:: decrease, diminution, reduction, step-down
the act of decreasing or reducing something

v invest (money) so that it is not taxable

Type of:: commit, invest, place, put
make an investment

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