to threaten (someone).
to offer or proffer (something).
the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river
land, as opposed to water (esp in the phrase on shore )
( as modifier )
shore duty
law the tract of coastland lying between the ordinary marks of high and low water
(often plural) a country
his native shores
What is a basic definition of shore? A shore is land that is located along the edge of a body of water. Shore can also be used more generally to mean any land or a particular country. As a verb, shore means to support something. If a certain area of land touches or runs alongside a body of water, it is a shore. For example, a fisherman would stand at a river’s shore while fishing in it. A shore is similar to a coast or a beach. A coast is a shore that specifically meets the ocean. A beach is a part of a shore covered in sand and pebbles.
Shore, bank, beach, coast refer to an edge of land abutting on an ocean, lake, or other large body of water. Shore is the general word: The ship reached shore. Bank denotes the land along a river or other watercourse, sometimes steep but often not: The river flows between its banks. Beach refers to sandy or pebbly margins along a shore, especially those made wider at ebb tide: a private beach for bathers. Coast applies only to land along an ocean: the Pacific coast.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English score, Old English scora (recorded only in place names); cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schore; perhaps akin to shear
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun shore, score; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schore “prop”; the verb is derivative of the noun
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English ( Scots ) schore, of uncertain origin and meaning
The land right at the edge of a lake, river, or ocean is called the shore. Even the bravest swimmers will head for the shore when they hear someone yell "Shark!" The verb shore means "prop up or support," so you might shore up a house that's tilting on its foundation or shore up a failing company with an investment of money. The water's-edge shore has a Germanic root that means "cut," and experts believe that the noun shore grew either from a sense of "division between land and water," or possibly "land cut off from the mainland by marshes."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it is a race against the clock and a turning tide means the small army of people gathering the harvest eventually beats a retreat to the shore.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Nature also produces sounds in this range through sources such as ocean waves striking the shore and wind moving across the landscape.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
A plan to lend more than $200 billion to shore up defense manufacturing has fueled a hiring spree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
If this benefit cut occurs, workers will need longer, not shorter, careers to shore up their retirements.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Slowly he gathered speed, then, with the bank only a few yards away, he made a dash and scrambled safely to shore.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Tents, cabanas and canopies have been banned along stretches of the Jersey Shore for the last two years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Historians Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore, as well as philosopher Jason Stanley, left their jobs at Yale University to take positions at the University of Toronto.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Shore fire broke out on San Timoteo Canyon Road southwest of Calimesa before 3:30 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
The Wall Street Journal asked Louise Bernard, the museum’s director, and Virginia Shore, the curator behind the commissioned art, for a guide to nine must-see pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
After what felt like an eternity, we’d finally accelerate onto Lake Shore Drive, following the curve of Lake Michigan north toward downtown.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
They shored up the building's foundations with wood and steel to prevent the partially destroyed structure from collapsing further.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
They’d loved hiking the Great Wall of China and participating in 150-mile bike rides, and had shored up their finances to retire early.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Officials with the gas company said they have shored up the facility, including replacing the inner steel tubing on all operating wells and conducting continuous ambient methane monitoring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
The aim was to have the three countries work more closely together on advanced submarines and other emerging technologies, as the U.S. shored up its network of alliances to counter Beijing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
The Erudite girl prods at any weaknesses she sees, and so does Cara, and soon they are all shored up, like we have just built a secure structure.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
In the case of 14 Gay Street in lower Manhattan, owners alleged Domani didn’t inform them of the entire north bearing foundational wall being removed without the installation of shoring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Since then, emergency work has consisted of installing temporary shoring and reinforcement beams, the mayor explained.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Fragile matter is Chakraborty’s specialty, and her expertise is put to novel use in shoring up her son’s tender heart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
The prime minister returned early from a overseas trip to countries in South East Asia, aimed at shoring up oil supplies, to visit the facility on Friday.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Ambrose Spike had reported some minor splintering at the top inside edges of the door, but the shoring of earthworks was holding out.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
