shepherd
noun
a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.
shepherd
1 American
[shep-erd]
/ ˈʃɛp ərd /
noun
-
shepherds
plural
verb (used with object)
-
shepherds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shepherded,
past participle, past
-
shepherding
present participle
-
to tend or guard as a shepherd.
to shepherd the flock.
-
to watch over carefully.
Shepherd
2
American
[shep-erd]
/ ˈʃɛp ərd /
noun
shepherd
1
British
/ ˈʃɛpəd /
noun
-
Female equivalent: shepherdess. a person employed to tend sheep
-
a person, such as a clergyman, who watches over or guides a group of people
verb
-
to guide or watch over in the manner of a shepherd
-
Australian rules football to prevent opponents from tackling (a member of one's own team) by blocking their path
Shepherd
2
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
undershepherdnoun
-
shepherdlessadjective
-
shepherdlikeadjective
-
unshepherdedadjective
-
unshepherdingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shepherdsimple
-
shepherdssimple
-
have shepherdedperfect
-
has shepherdedperfect
-
am shepherdingprogressive
-
are shepherdingprogressive
-
is shepherdingprogressive
-
have been shepherdingperfect progressive
-
has been shepherdingperfect progressive
Past
-
shepherdedsimple
-
had shepherdedperfect
-
was shepherdingprogressive
-
were shepherdingprogressive
-
had been shepherdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shepherd
before 1050; Middle English shepherde, Old English scēphyrde. See sheep, herd 2
Explanation
A shepherd is a person who herds flocks or groups of animals. If you traveled to Tibet, you might see a yak shepherd. Shepherd comes from the Old English sceaphierde: sheepherder. Such a person protects sheep from animals that would attack them, keeps them from wandering, and otherwise takes care of the flock. The word is also a verb that describes care of a group — sheep, other animals, even people. You might shepherd your herd of goats, or shepherd your younger siblings through the transition from elementary to middle school.
Vocabulary lists containing shepherd
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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.
See Examples For:
Once on the scene, police have to clear corners and shepherd away fleeing students.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The demonstration had been called by farmers and shepherd groups.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Neighbors always waved at Vela Gonzalez as he walked his German shepherd, Chico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
As well as turning more unsettled in the coming days, the area of low pressure which is bringing the showers will also shepherd in some much cooler air from the Arctic.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
It’s like the time Skye put socks on her Australian shepherd and the poor dog forgot how to walk normally.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Shepherd soon realized he would have to build the system he wanted himself, so he teamed up with club owner and DJ Tom Smith — known as Cosmic Tom — who offered his help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The system was packed up and sent through the Panama Canal to get Stateside, where Shepherd and a small team will reassemble it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Shepherd said he could also see the system support its own festival, though he isn’t looking to produce an event on his own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Having Dr Shepherd there to talk more about his injuries was just really good," Debbie said, adding he had been able "to explain it in more simple terms".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
In the entryway hung the required portrait of El Jefe, except it wasn’t our old one of Trujillo as a young captain that used to hang next to the Good Shepherd.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Romanian shepherds also protested in front of the government earlier this year at the end of July.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
For centuries, it was a vast swamp where mosquitoes spread malaria among shepherds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Some shepherds were waiting for them to come out.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
The Bidens arrived in Washington with two German shepherds, Champ and Major.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
When night fell, the manager of the property patrolled the grounds with three big German shepherds.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
After Mark Carney settled markets with explicit forward guidance and successfully shepherded Canada through the global financial crisis in 2008, his successor as central bank governor changed course.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
He spent about three minutes firing questions at the ship's second officer, who was helming the vessel, before he was shepherded back to the public areas.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
They work in groups of 20-50, shepherded by a leader.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
One speaker after another followed Erika’s lead, preaching the tenets of Christian womanhood to a congregation eager to be shepherded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
And dancing about them, running now to one and now to another, she shepherded them back to the Toy Department.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
But we may be starting a new era, according to Rick Castellano, a vice president at Sallie Mae, who has been shepherding the company’s data collection since 2014.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Davis championed a new generation of rock at Columbia Records in the late 1960s before shepherding a slate of stars across R&B, hip-hop, country and pop starting with his own fabled Arista Records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Wang appeared as usual at last week’s city council meeting, shepherding along discussions on street paving, the upcoming budget and a potential e-bike ordinance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Lord Falconer, who along with Leadbeater is shepherding the bill through Parliament, has said the legislation has "absolutely no hope" of becoming law without a "fundamental change" in the House of Lords' approach.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
Wanting to shake the corporals off, he quickened his pace, overtook the Scotsmen and pushed his way past a group of nuns shepherding a couple of dozen children in blue tunics.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
