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

Everest, reaching the highest point on Earth on May 1, 1963, with Sherpa Nawang Gombu.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 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

Sherpa worked in the mountains for two decades more until his wife asked him to stop his dangerous journeys, after many of his friends had died assisting other climbing expeditions.

From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025

Whenever the weather would turn nasty, one or another Sherpa was apt to point up at the clouds boiling heavenward and earnestly declare, “Somebody has been sauce-making. Make bad luck. Now storm is coming.”

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer