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Shannon

American  
[shan-uhn] / ˈʃæn ən /

noun

  1. Claude Elwood 1916–2001, U.S. applied mathematician: early developer of information theory.

  2. a river flowing SW from N Ireland to the Atlantic: the principal river of Ireland. 240 miles (386 km) long.

  3. international airport in W Ireland, near Limerick.

  4. a female given name.

Shannon 1 British  
/ ˈʃænən /

noun

  1. a river in the Republic of Ireland, rising in NW Co Cavan and flowing south to the Atlantic by an estuary 113 km (70 miles) long: the longest river in the Republic of Ireland. Length: 260 km (161 miles)

"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
Shannon 2 British  
/ ˈʃænən /

noun

  1. Claude ( Elwood ). 1916–2000, US mathematician, who first developed information theory

"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

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.

He advanced Ornette Coleman’s “harmolodics”—a radical shift in thinking about melody, harmony and group interaction—within Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Shannon Bream, anchor of “Fox News Sunday” and the network’s chief legal correspondent, recently completed her Bible trilogy.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

Shannon McCarthy, a self-described "goth baker" from Barnsley, has been exploring old regional recipes from across the country.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

“We welcome any step that takes microplastics and emerging contaminants seriously,” said Kelly Shannon McNeill, managing director of the nonprofit environmental group Los Angeles Waterkeeper.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

"This is the Shannon house, girls," Mr. Drew said.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

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.