Shan
Americannoun
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Shans,
plural
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Shan
plural
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a group of Mongoloid tribes in the hills of Myanmar (Burma).
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a language spoken in the Shan States and belonging to the Tai group of languages.
noun
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a member of a Mongoloid people living in Myanmar, Thailand, and SW China
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the language or group of dialects spoken by the Shan, belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family and closely related to Thai
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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:
Pakistan captain Shan Masood was Greaves' first wicket at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad when he was bowled for 109 in the 64th over following a superb set-up.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Ming, Bau, Wei and Liu clans have dominated the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar's impoverished Shan state, since 2009.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
AFP journalists joined a military-organised press tour through the smouldering wreckage of two former labs south of the town of Hsipaw in northeastern Shan state.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
ProPublica journalists Nicole Foy, McKenzie Funk, Joanna Shan, Haley Clark and Cengiz Yar gathered videos via Spanish and English social media posts, local press reports and court records.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026
“Oh, I’m not following this election,” Shan had said dismissively.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Throne of God is a vast mountain of the Tien Shans in Central Asia where Russia gnaws into China.
From Time Magazine Archive
The hillsides were black with them: Chinese, Shans, Kachins.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week in London the Burmans pointed to the west, north, and east borders of British Burma and claimed the country where the Chins, Shans, Kachins, Nagas, Was, and some Karens lived.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is why the Shans who live in the hill and water country worship Sau Maha Khit.
From Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country by William C. Griggs
Shan, shan, adj. pertaining to the Shans, a number of tribes of common origin, who live on the borders of Burma, Siam, and China.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions 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.
