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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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
The demonstration had been called by farmers and shepherd groups.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
A corgi shepherd mix went missing from its Northern California home in July and was found in Illinois.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Before Jessie's dad died, he was renting fields out to a local shepherd, which is still bringing in income now.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Tolomeo, the deposed king of Egypt, is hiding out on the island of Cyprus disguised as a shepherd.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“A wandering shepherd gave you to me, a servant of Laius.”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Shepherd soon realized he would have to build the system he wanted himself, so he teamed up with club owner and DJ Tom Smith — known as Cosmic Tom — who offered his help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
“DJing’s not about playing wicked records. It’s about playing wicked records on a system,” said Sam Shepherd, who performs under the name Floating Points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The couple owned a miniature Australian Shepherd named Pip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The episode retraces his steps alongside forensic pathologist Richard Shepherd, who carried out Jay's postmortem when his body was returned to the UK.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 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
Romanian shepherds also protested in front of the government earlier this year at the end of July.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
For centuries, it was a vast swamp where mosquitoes spread malaria among shepherds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Jersey brothers and shepherds Josh and Ben Voak, who work with the project, said it had saved them hours of manual labour and opened up new areas for flocks to graze.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Intricate sculptural groups depict the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus, the Adoration of the Magi and the shepherds, Herod’s massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, Jesus preaching at the temple, and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
He saw some shepherds milking their sheep at the side of the road and took a small detour to talk to them.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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
“Get back!” shouted Ron, and he, Harry, and Hermione flattened themselves against a door as a herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting Professor McGonagall.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The U.S. says it is shepherding several ships a day through the strait to help ease pressure on global oil supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
Nala could’ve been shepherding cows through a wind tunnel.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
