German shepherd

American  

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

noun

• German shepherds
  plural

1. 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.

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German shepherd British  

noun

1. another name for Alsatian

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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

See Examples For:

German shepherd

Chico, his German shepherd, was sent to a foster family in March and permanently rehomed last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Florsheim has two dogs: Leo, a two-year-old German shepherd he calls “a bit of a handful,” and Rosie, a six-year-old border collie mix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

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

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

She had faith in me, so I reluctantly packed up my stuff and moved to Santa Monica with Gus, my German shepherd.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

They adopted a massive German shepherd named Eck von Heinerberg, and the three of them crowded into the front seat of the sports car for epic drives through the Turkish countryside.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin