pear-shaped
Americanadjective
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having the shape of a pear; tapering near the top and bulging toward the base or bottom.
a pear-shaped vase.
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(of a vocal tone) clear, resonant, and without harshness; full-bodied.
Etymology
Origin of pear-shaped
First recorded in 1750–60
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.
Who gets paid first if things go pear-shaped?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
His character Boswell Hyde—a “self-possessed pear-shaped young man in his rumpled seersuckers and his jaunty bow tie”—bears a close resemblance to Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., the Harvard professor and adviser to John F. Kennedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Morris Commercial said the reimagined van would retain a number of its original features, including the pear-shaped grille.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
I'm handed an elegant pear-shaped bottle with an intricate leaf pattern reaching up around the neck.
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2024
Set’s altar was made from an egg crate covered by a piece of an old bedspread, and the god himself was a rather pear-shaped figure of dried mud.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
