shire horse

British

noun

Often shortened to: shire. a large heavy breed of carthorse with long hair on the fetlocks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shire horse

C19: so called because the breed was originally reared in the Shires. See _shire ¹

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.

A pair of orphaned racehorse foals have been adopted by a shire horse in Devon.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2023

He later rode team-mate Thomas Bjorn into the victory press conference like a half-cut shire horse.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2014

Titled "Isles of Wonder", it opens with a recreation of bucolic bliss, complete with fields, hedges, sheep, geese, a shire horse, shepherdesses and even a game of village cricket.

From Reuters • Jul. 27, 2012

Inspired by William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", it opens with a recreation of bucolic bliss, complete with fields, fences, hedges, sheep, geese, a shire horse, shepherdesses and even a game of village cricket.

From Reuters • Jul. 27, 2012

It's no good if it's pulled by a shire horse.

From The Guardian • Dec. 10, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023