shamrock
Americannoun
-
shamrocks
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shamrock
1565–75; < Irish seamróg, equivalent to seamair clover + -óg diminutive suffix
Compare meaning
How does shamrock compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A shamrock is a three-leafed green clover that's used to symbolize Ireland. Go all out for St. Patrick's Day this year — decorate your whole house with shamrocks! A clover must have exactly three leaves to be a shamrock, and some people believe only certain clover varieties qualify. Since at least 1675, Catholics have associated the shamrock with Saint Patrick, who famously used it to represent the Holy Trinity. It wasn't until the 18th century that it shifted from representing Ireland's patron saint to Ireland itself. The shamrock even shows up on some British coins, alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle.
Vocabulary lists containing shamrock
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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:
“My first tattoo,” she wrote, “might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2025
Catherine, dressed in a bottle-green and percher hat, presented the traditional sprigs of shamrock to officers, guardsmen and mascot Seamus, the Irish wolfhound, at the regiment's annual parade at Wellington Barracks.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2025
But such information would only have puzzled Trump and complicated the shamrock bonhomie, and Vance — a Roman Catholic convert, after all — beamed in silence from the sofa.
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2025
He announced his intention to play for Notre Dame on social media, writing “A dream come true. Go Irish,” with a shamrock image at the end.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
Harry was with them; he would, of course, be supporting Bulgaria, and he wondered vaguely why he had a large green shamrock pinned to his chest.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
When the Irish visit the White House each year, they traditionally bring a bowl of shamrocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
JD Vance, who attended the same meeting, didn't miss his own chance to pay homage to the Irish prime minister, donning a pair of cream-coloured socks that were - fittingly - adorned with green shamrocks.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
“Everything between Ireland and the United States runs deep,” Biden said on St. Patrick’s Day in 2021, wearing a green tie and carrying a fistful of shamrocks in his coat pocket.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 12, 2023
On the menu will be corned beef and cabbage and green cookies shaped like shamrocks.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
You could buy Valentines in November at Lee Chong’s, shamrocks, hatchets and paper cherry trees in August.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
