Shoulder Definition & Meaning

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  • Other Word Forms
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    • Synonyms shoulder American [shohl-der] / ˈʃoʊl dər /

    noun

    1. the part of each side of the body in humans, at the top of the trunk, extending from each side of the base of the neck to the region where the arm articulates with the trunk.

    2. Usually shoulders these two parts together with the part of the back joining them.

    3. a corresponding part in animals.

    4. the upper foreleg and adjoining parts of a sheep, goat, etc.

    5. the joint connecting the arm or the foreleg with the trunk.

    6. a shoulderlike part or projection.

    7. Ornithology. the bend of a bird's wing, between the hand and the forearm, especially when distinctively colored, as in the red-shouldered hawk, Buteo lineatus.

    8. a cut of meat that includes the upper joint of the foreleg.

    9. Informal. Often shoulders capacity for bearing responsibility or blame or sympathizing with other people.

      If you want to tell me your troubles, I have broad shoulders.

    10. a steplike change in the contour of an object, as for opposing or limiting motion along it or for an abutment.

    11. Carpentry.

      1. the end surface or surfaces of a piece from which a tenon or tenons project.

      2. an inclined and raised surface, as on a joggle post, for receiving and supporting the foot of a strut or the like.

    12. Fortification. the angle of a bastion between the face and the flank.

    13. Printing. the flat surface on a type body extending beyond the base of the letter or character.

    14. the part of a garment that covers, or fits over, the shoulder.

    15. (in leather manufacturing) that part of the hide anterior to the butt.

    16. either of the two edges or borders along a road, especially that portion on which vehicles can be parked in emergencies.

    17. shoulder season.

    18. Furniture. knee.

    verb (used with object)

    1. to push with or as if with the shoulder, especially roughly.

      to shoulder someone aside.

    2. to take upon, support, or carry on or as if on the shoulder or shoulders.

      He shouldered his knapsack and walked on.

    3. to assume as a responsibility.

      to shoulder the expense.

      Synonyms: take on, bear, accept

    verb (used without object)

    1. to push with or as if with the shoulder.

      to shoulder through a crowd.

    idioms

    1. cry on someone's shoulder, to reveal one's problems to another person in order to obtain sympathy.

      Don't cry on my shoulder—this mess is your own fault.

    2. put one's shoulder to the wheel, to work energetically toward a goal; put forth effort.

      If we put our shoulders to the wheel, we'll be able to finish the job soon.

    3. straight from the shoulder, without evasion; directly; candidly.

      The lawyer told him straight from the shoulder that his case was weak.

    4. shoulder to shoulder, side by side; with united effort.

      The volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with the locals in harvesting the crops.

    5. shoulder arms,

      1. to place a rifle muzzle upward on the right or left shoulder, with the buttstock in the corresponding hand.

      2. the command to shoulder arms.

    6. rub shoulders with, to come into association with; mingle with.

      The gallery was a space where bohemian artists would rub shoulders with both affluent collectors and the general public.

    shoulder British / ˈʃəʊldə /

    noun

    1. the part of the vertebrate body where the arm or a corresponding forelimb joins the trunk: the pectoral girdle and associated structures

    2. the joint at the junction of the forelimb with the pectoral girdle

    3. a cut of meat including the upper part of the foreleg

    4. printing the flat surface of a piece of type from which the face rises

    5. tanning the portion of a hide covering the shoulders and neck of the animal, usually including the cheeks

    6. the part of a garment that covers the shoulder

    7. anything that resembles a shoulder in shape or position

    8. the strip of unpaved land that borders a road

    9. engineering a substantial projection or abrupt change in shape or diameter designed to withstand thrust

    10. photog the portion of the characteristic curve of a photographic material indicating the maximum density that can be produced on the material

    11. jewellery the part of a ring where the shank joins the setting

    12. a person one turns to for sympathy with one's troubles

    13. informal

      1. to treat someone in a cold manner; snub

      2. to ignore or shun someone

    14. informal to work very hard

    15. See rub

      1. side by side or close together

      2. in a corporate effort

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    verb

    1. (tr) to bear or carry (a burden, responsibility, etc) as if on one's shoulders

    2. to push (something) with or as if with the shoulder

    3. (tr) to lift or carry on the shoulders

    4. military to bring the rifle vertically close to the right side with the muzzle uppermost and held at the trigger guard

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 shoulder More Idioms

      More idioms and phrases containing shoulder

      • broad shoulders
      • chip on one's shoulder
      • cold shoulder
      • cry on someone's shoulder
      • good head on one's shoulders
      • head and shoulders above
      • on one's shoulders
      • put one's shoulder to the wheel
      • rub elbows (shoulders) with
      • shrug one's shoulders
      • square one's shoulders
      • straight from the shoulder
      • weight of the world on one's shoulders

    Other Word Forms

    • outshoulder verb (used with object)
    • reshoulder verb (used with object)
    • unshouldered adjective

    Etymology

    Origin of shoulder

    First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sholder, s(c)hulder, Old English sculdor; cognate with Dutch schouder, German Schulter; the verb is derivative of the noun

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    His stylistic innovations included an emphasis on neutral, in-between colors, soft shoulders, and a more relaxed approach to evening looks for men and women.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Fathers hold their children on their shoulders as a group of college students perform a Tinikling routine, a traditional Philippine dance in which performers step and hop over and between bamboo poles.

    From Los Angeles Times

    The 22-year-old, who was also hit in the shoulder, has lost vision in one of his eyes but is now recovering at home, his family confirmed in a statement.

    From BBC

    By imagining technologies that can shoulder our memories, our labor and our most shattering emotions, Greene questions whether AI risks nurturing a fantasy that code can heal what hurts in our inner lives.

    From Los Angeles Times

    "When it struggles, the weight should not rest solely on the producer, who shoulders risk from the very beginning."

    From Barron's

    Related Words

    • accept
    • assume

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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