sheltering in place
Staying home safely
Sheltering in place means staying where you are during an emergency rather than evacuating—remaining indoors at home, work, or school until authorities signal it's safe.
The practice applies to various threats: chemical spills, active shooters, severe weather.
The phrase gained widespread use during the COVID-19 pandemic, when sheltering in place became shorthand for lockdown orders requiring people to stay home except for essential activities.
- lockdownEnforced restriction on movement
- refugePlace of safety
- hidingStaying out of sight
- safetyFreedom from harm
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
emergency kit · quarantine · protection · barricade · severe weather · tornado warning · social distancing · self-isolation · home confinement · hunkering down · seclusion · pandemic · safe room · bunker mentality · security · stress management · natural disaster · emergency broadcast
sheltering in placegoing out
Leaving to socialize
traveling · roaming · wandering · commuting · evacuating
sheltering in placeevacuating
Leaving a dangerous area
evacuation · bugging out · fleeing · getting out · fighting back
sheltering in placesocializing
Engaging with others recreationally
gathering · mingling · congregating · public life · reopening
shelter, sheltered, sheltering, shelters, shelterer, place, places, placed, placing