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Shylock

American  
[shahy-lok] / ˈʃaɪ lɒk /

noun

  1. a relentless and revengeful moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

  2. a hard-hearted moneylender.

verb (used without object)

  1. (lowercase) to lend money at extortionate rates of interest.

Shylock British  
/ ˈʃaɪˌlɒk /

noun

  1. a heartless or demanding creditor

"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
Shylock Cultural  

  1. The merciless moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He demands a pound of flesh (see also pound of flesh) from the title character of the play after the merchant defaults on his debt.

Discover More

Shylock is a Jew (see also Jews), and there has long been controversy over whether Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock contributes to prejudice against Jews. Shylock is a cruel miser and eventually is heavily fined and disgraced, but he maintains his dignity. At one point in the play, he makes a famous, eloquent assertion that his desire for revenge is the same desire that a Christian would feel in his place. “I am a Jew,” says Shylock. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?”

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Shylock

C19: after Shylock, the name of the heartless usurer in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1596)

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.

But before Page reaches Iago, he spends time with Shylock from the “The Merchant of Venice.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026

He played Shylock in a 2005 production of “The Merchant of Venice” and Gremio in “The Taming of the Shrew,” among many other roles.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2023

In the Bard's famous play, Shylock asks for a pound of Antonio's flesh a loan isn't repaid within three months.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2023

Arbus noted that it is not pure imagination to think of Shylock as a man of color.

From Washington Post • Apr. 7, 2022

After we closed our books, Mrs. Baker asked me to discuss the character of Shylock.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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.