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-ray]
/ 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.
See Examples For:
"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
Sammy the shire horse had recently lost her own foal when the thoroughbreds, whose own mothers had died, were brought into her care.
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
A baseball cap was a take on a horse-riding helmet alongside a flared pant with a fringed hem cleverly resembling a shire horse’s leg.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
It was probably the shire reeve’s horse, for above the slow clatter over the cobbles Robin could hear the grating of runners on a kind of sled the horse was dragging.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
A Shire horse that has entered the record books as the world's tallest living horse could exceed his height as he is still growing, his owner has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Manager Erica Gilson recalled feeling "hugely proud" to work on Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which included scenes at Shire Hall in Chelmsford.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Discovery revealed in May 2024 that it was heading back to the Shire with two new films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Spoken-word artists have found popular acclaim, from Gil Scott-Heron to Kae Tempest and Warsan Shire on Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
‘But handsome is as handsome does, as we say in the Shire; and I daresay we shall all look much the same after lying for days in hedges and ditches.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
In the highland regions of the Shiré Valley, the party were distinctly conscious of an increase of energy, from the more bracing climate.
From The Personal Life of David Livingstone by William Garden Blaikie
Known to me previously for years on the Zambesi and Shiré it was a pleasure to have them with me for four months.
From The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868 by Horace Waller
It is impossible not to regret the loss of good Bishop Mackenzie, who sleeps far down the Shiré, and with him all hope of the Gospel being introduced into Central Africa.
From The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868 by Horace Waller
Thence the winding of the Shiré may be followed like a silver thread or broad lake with its dark mountain mass behind.
From The Personal Life of David Livingstone by William Garden Blaikie
In 1863 he was again exploring the Shiré Valley and Lake Nyassa, when an order came from Her Majesty's Government, recalling the Expedition.
From The Personal Life of David Livingstone by William Garden Blaikie
Look at the surnames of Londoners compared to those in the shires.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2017
The 1,200 constituents who showed up for his forum — residents of Hollywood, Burbank, Silver Lake — are terrified of what’s been wrought by the faraway shires of Oshkosh, Grand Rapids, Erie and Dayton.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2017
But away from the nostalgia and a sense of living in the shires, do boundary changes actually matter?
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2013
Railing at wind farms from his perch in his favorite pub in the Kent countryside, Farage tries to articulate the fading voice of the English shires.
From Newsweek ● Mar. 11, 2013
The Danish shires and Kent could not but exercise a certain influence on the adjoining counties.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Paul Vinogradoff
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.
