shepherd
noun
a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.
shepherd
1 American
[shep-erd]
/ ˈʃɛp ərd /
noun
-
shepherds
plural
verb (used with object)
-
shepherds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shepherded,
past participle, past
-
shepherding
present participle
-
to tend or guard as a shepherd.
to shepherd the flock.
-
to watch over carefully.
Shepherd
2
American
[shep-erd]
/ ˈʃɛp ərd /
noun
shepherd
1
British
/ ˈʃɛpəd /
noun
-
Female equivalent: shepherdess. a person employed to tend sheep
-
a person, such as a clergyman, who watches over or guides a group of people
verb
-
to guide or watch over in the manner of a shepherd
-
Australian rules football to prevent opponents from tackling (a member of one's own team) by blocking their path
Shepherd
2
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
undershepherdnoun
-
shepherdlessadjective
-
shepherdlikeadjective
-
unshepherdedadjective
-
unshepherdingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shepherdsimple
-
shepherdssimple
-
have shepherdedperfect
-
has shepherdedperfect
-
am shepherdingprogressive
-
are shepherdingprogressive
-
is shepherdingprogressive
-
have been shepherdingperfect progressive
-
has been shepherdingperfect progressive
Past
-
shepherdedsimple
-
had shepherdedperfect
-
was shepherdingprogressive
-
were shepherdingprogressive
-
had been shepherdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shepherd
before 1050; Middle English shepherde, Old English scēphyrde. See sheep, herd 2
Explanation
A shepherd is a person who herds flocks or groups of animals. If you traveled to Tibet, you might see a yak shepherd. Shepherd comes from the Old English sceaphierde: sheepherder. Such a person protects sheep from animals that would attack them, keeps them from wandering, and otherwise takes care of the flock. The word is also a verb that describes care of a group — sheep, other animals, even people. You might shepherd your herd of goats, or shepherd your younger siblings through the transition from elementary to middle school.
Vocabulary lists containing shepherd
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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:
As well as turning more unsettled in the coming days, the area of low pressure which is bringing the showers will also shepherd in some much cooler air from the Arctic.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He skimps on policy and skipped most of the preprimary debates; at the one he did attend, Marx brought his dog, a Dutch shepherd, onstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
People who shepherd their loved ones through serious illness are often crucial to the well-being of the patients using the company’s products.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
And how much wolf can you cry before they just take you off shepherd duty?
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
“If Doc Murphy don’t tell Judd about Shiloh, can we bring him back here and keep him? I could build him a better pen. Make the fence high enough so the shepherd can’t get in.”
From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
If the Senate confirms him to the Eighth Circuit, he will fill a seat opened by Judge Bobby Shepherd, who is taking senior status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Now Flores and his German Shepherd, Mike, are on the streets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
We have this big Australian Shepherd and we take him for long, slow walks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
In the 1995 movie “The American President”, Michael Douglas’ character President Andrew Shepherd gives a stirring speech about that very topic.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
And that is when Clarence flew into the Good Shepherd, his dark feathers shining like a light.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
Some shepherds were waiting for them to come out.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
They are waulking the wool, an age-old tradition for rendering tweed soft and airtight so that it might keep the shepherds of the Scottish Hebrides warm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
In Spain, fritter-like buñuelos showed up with the Moors, and by some reports, churros were a Chinese idea that was later dragged through molten chocolate by hungry Madrileños or wandering shepherds or both.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026
The decision turned on a technicality: Police demanded the surrender of four German shepherds; the disputed dogs are, in fact, one Dutch shepherd and three Belgian Malinois.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026
On La Noche Buena, December 24, no costumed shepherds with bells on their staffs roamed the streets.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
Ms. Hazrat points out that the punctuation of William Shakespeare’s plays seem not to have come from the Bard himself but from the editors, copyreaders, typesetters and publishers who shepherded his manuscripts into finished form.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
After Mark Carney settled markets with explicit forward guidance and successfully shepherded Canada through the global financial crisis in 2008, his successor as central bank governor changed course.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
He also shepherded his young UAE-Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Isaac del Toro across the line on more than one occasion during this year's race when his own job was done.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
As a producer, Davis notched five Grammy Awards, two with Santana, one with Clarkson and one with Jennifer Hudson, but shepherded several nominations and wins for artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
And dancing about them, running now to one and now to another, she shepherded them back to the Toy Department.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
But we may be starting a new era, according to Rick Castellano, a vice president at Sallie Mae, who has been shepherding the company’s data collection since 2014.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
He is expected to continue shepherding some of those briefs, though now without Kendall's leadership.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Wang appeared as usual at last week’s city council meeting, shepherding along discussions on street paving, the upcoming budget and a potential e-bike ordinance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Ternus has a reputation as a decisive leader, where Cook was known for shepherding teams to collaborative conclusions.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Other teachers and parents kept calling out to Ms. Morales, but she kept shepherding the kids toward the parking lot, even as she stayed a few steps back from them.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
