German shepherd

American

[jur-muhn shep-erd] / ˈdʒɜr mən ˈʃɛp ərd /

noun

one of a breed of large shepherd dogs having a coat ranging in color from gray to brindled, black-and-tan, or black, used especially in police work and as a guide for the blind.

German shepherd British

noun

another name for Alsatian

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

German shepherds

plural

Etymology

Origin of German shepherd

1930–35; shepherd probably as translation of German Schäferhund

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:

German shepherd

The Bidens tried again with Commander, a German shepherd puppy who joined them in December 2021, but he was also gone by October 2023 after at least 24 documented biting incidents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

Elliot: I've got two dogs - a sausage dog and a German shepherd.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

A Claude-based agent books her airline tickets and hotels, and she recently built another to help with her new German shepherd puppy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

The litter is the biggest at Guide Dogs since 2022, when German shepherd Unity surprised the charity with a record-breaking 16 puppies.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025

“Saw that big German shepherd of Baker’s that gets loose sometimes, and saw a little old gray dog, but sure didn’t see that beagle.”

From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

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