shire
noun
one of the counties of Great Britain.
shire
1 American
[shahyuhr]
/ ʃaɪər /
noun
shires
plural
-
one of the counties of Great Britain.
-
the Shires, the counties in the Midlands in which hunting is especially popular.
Shire
2
American
[shahyuhr]
/ ʃaɪər /
noun
Shiré
3
American
[shee-rey]
/ ˈʃi reɪ /
noun
shire
1
British
/ ʃaɪə /
noun
-
-
one of the British counties
-
( in combination )
Yorkshire
-
-
(in Australia) a rural district having its own local council
-
See shire horse
-
the Midland counties of England, esp Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, famous for hunting, etc
Shire
2
British
/ ˈʃɪəreɪ /
noun
shire
3
British
/ ʃaɪə /
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shire1
before 900; Middle English; Old English scīr office of administration, jurisdiction of such an office, county
Origin of Shire2
1875–80; apparently so called because it was bred in the shires, i.e., those counties of west and central England whose names end in -shire
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.
The family showed shire horses, he said, which his son was passionate about.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
"It was a bit of a shock for Sammy the shire when she went out in the field and the two thoroughbreds whizzed around the field like two racehorses," she added.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2023
More recently, his works have also provided a fertile shire for nationalists who see themselves in his heroic archetypes.
From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2022
“Water is sour, the air is lonely here / And all the noises of this natural shire / From stable or from sty are not enough,” Mr. Howard wrote in one poem.
From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2022
At least eighteen hands high, but not thick in the way of shire or draft horses.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
