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

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

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

The German shepherd that has been barking nonstop for three days and two nights finally shuts up.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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