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

Neighbors always waved at Vela Gonzalez as he walked his German shepherd, Chico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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

"Finn's law" was named after German shepherd Finn, who suffered near-fatal injuries as he protected PC Dave Wardell from an attacker in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 2016.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025

“You know what a good guard dog goes for these days? I’ll tell you. There’s a German shepherd on the internet on sale for fifty-five thousand dollars. For one dog! Fifty-five K!”

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

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