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• Sherpa
  Sherpa

  noun

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

  noun

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

Sherpa

American  

[shur-puh] / ˈʃɜr pə /

noun

Sherpas plural

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Sherpa
  plural
• Sherpas
  plural

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

Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions which was overseeing search efforts, called it a "true self-rescue".

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

As hopes of his survival faded, Dawa Sherpa had slowly been making his way back, and on Thursday he was spotted by a cleaning crew as he slid slowly down the world's tallest mountain.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

An experienced climber, Dawa Sherpa is also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa after famed mountaineer Edmund Hillary.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

His wife Damu Sherpa said her family was overjoyed.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

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