shire
noun
one of the counties of Great Britain.
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shire
1 American
[shahyuhr]
/ ʃaɪər /
noun
-
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
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.
Buckingham Palace said the teddies had been collected with the help of shire horses and almost 200 volunteers - and were being "well looked after".
From BBC • Oct. 15, 2022
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
“As long as other countries are willing to buy it from us, we’re going to be mining coal,” said Godfrey Adamthwaite, a retired third-generation mineworker who serves on the Singleton shire council.
From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2021
One comment simply read: "Anything that ends with shire will do me, Lincolnshire or Yorkshire."
From BBC • Oct. 28, 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
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.
