shepherd

¹ American  

[shep-erd] / ˈʃɛp ərd /

noun

1. a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.

2. a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people.

   Synonyms:

   keeper, defender, guardian, protector

3. a member of the clergy.

4. the Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

5. sheepdog.

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verb (used with object)

1. to tend or guard as a shepherd.

   to shepherd the flock.

2. to watch over carefully.

Shepherd ² American  

[shep-erd] / ˈʃɛp ərd /

noun

1. a male given name.

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shepherd ¹ British  

/ ˈʃɛpəd /

noun

1. Female equivalent: shepherdess.  a person employed to tend sheep

2. a person, such as a clergyman, who watches over or guides a group of people

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verb

1. to guide or watch over in the manner of a shepherd

2. Australian rules football to prevent opponents from tackling (a member of one's own team) by blocking their path

Shepherd ² British  

noun

1. astronomy a small moon of (e.g.) Saturn orbiting close to the rings and partly responsible for ring stability

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Other Word Forms

• shepherdless adjective
• shepherdlike adjective
• undershepherd noun
• unshepherded adjective
• unshepherding adjective

Etymology

Origin of shepherd

before 1050; Middle English shepherde, Old English scēphyrde. See sheep, herd ²

Example Sentences

She’s also taken along bedding — a lot more than usual — to help shepherd in an L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

But Zaslav already had a plan to split his empire into two companies—one to house the studios and HBO Max, and the other to shepherd the TV networks business.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2018, he shepherded a major reorganization of Annapurna after the company stumbled into hundreds of millions in losses amid several box office misfires.

From Los Angeles Times

Santa's key worker was later discovered on Formby beach using thermal binoculars, while a local lifeboat quad bike team stepped in to shepherd him into some sand dunes.

From BBC

The team reports that post-domestication wolf ancestry occurs across a broad range of breeds, from the large Shiloh shepherd to the tiny chihuahua.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• herder
• herdsman