Sherpa

American  

[shur-puh] / ˈʃɜr pə /

noun

plural

Sherpas,

plural

Sherpa

1. a member of a people of Tibetan descent living in the Nepalese Himalayas, who often serve as porters on mountain-climbing expeditions.

2. a Tibetic language spoken by the Sherpa.

3. Sometimes sherpa an expert chosen by a chief executive to assist in preparations for a summit meeting.

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Sherpa ¹ British  

/ ˈʃɜːpə /

noun

1. a member of a people of Mongolian origin living on the southern slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, noted as mountaineers

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sherpa ² British  

/ ˈʃɜːpə /

noun

1. an official who makes preparations for or assists a government representative or important delegate at a summit meeting or conference

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Etymology

Origin of Sherpa

First recorded in 1840–50; from Sherpa sharpa, equiavalent to shar “east” + pa “people” (referring to the origin of this people in eastern Tibet)

Example Sentences

He and his Sherpa emerged from their tent into 50-mile-an-hour winds, a blizzard so fierce that Whittaker couldn’t see his feet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

But Everest, first scaled in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was a far more formidable and dangerous beast.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

"Apart from the check point above the Khumbu Icefall, there is no monitoring of what climbers are doing," said Mr Sherpa.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

Kanchha Sherpa was 19 when he accompanied the historic team led by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the top of the world's tallest mountain in 1953.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025

Twenty stone monuments stood in a somber row along the crest of the glacier’s terminal moraine, overlooking the mist-filled valley: memorials to climbers who had died on Everest, most of them Sherpa.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer