shepherd

[ shep-erd ]
See synonyms for shepherd on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.

  2. a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people.

  1. a member of the clergy.

  2. the Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

verb (used with object)
  1. to tend or guard as a shepherd: to shepherd the flock.

  2. to watch over carefully.

Origin of shepherd

1
before 1050; Middle English shepherde,Old English scēphyrde.See sheep, herd2

Other words for shepherd

Other words from shepherd

  • shep·herd·less, adjective
  • shep·herd·like, adjective
  • un·der·shep·herd, noun
  • un·shep·herd·ed, adjective
  • un·shep·herd·ing, adjective

Other definitions for Shepherd (2 of 2)

Shepherd
[ shep-erd ]

noun
  1. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shepherd in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shepherd (1 of 2)

shepherd

/ (ˈʃɛpəd) /


noun
  1. a person employed to tend sheep: Female equivalent: shepherdess Related adjectives: bucolic, pastoral

  2. a person, such as a clergyman, who watches over or guides a group of people

verb(tr)
  1. to guide or watch over in the manner of a shepherd

  2. Australian rules football to prevent opponents from tackling (a member of one's own team) by blocking their path

Origin of shepherd

1
from Old English sceaphirde. See sheep, herd ²

British Dictionary definitions for Shepherd (2 of 2)

Shepherd

noun
  1. astronomy a small moon of (e.g.) Saturn orbiting close to the rings and partly responsible for ring stability

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