Shelter is protection from weather, danger, or hardship. A shelter keeps you safe from rain, wind, snow, or sun. Your house is a shelter. So is a tent in the woods, a cave where ancient people lived, or even the roof of a bus stop where you wait during a sudden storm.

Animals build shelters too: birds make nests, beavers construct lodges, and bears find dens. Throughout history, humans have created increasingly sophisticated shelters, from simple lean-tos made of branches to modern skyscrapers. The ability to build good shelter helped early humans survive in harsh climates and spread across the planet.

The word also means a place that provides temporary safety for people or animals in need. An animal shelter houses dogs and cats until they find permanent homes. A homeless shelter gives people a warm place to sleep and eat when they have nowhere else to go.

To shelter someone means to protect them or give them refuge. You might shelter a friend from bullying by standing up for them, or take shelter under a tree during a rainstorm (but not during lightning!). Parents shelter their children from dangers they're too young to handle.