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

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

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

Be not deceived by the anodyne title: This ode to the author’s German shepherd is the weirdest book on my list, by far.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

Carnes grilled steaks as his German shepherd, Cammie, ran around.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025

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

He expected them to stand endlessly in his doorway, his half German shepherd jumping up on them as he rambled on about the boiler.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

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