shoulder

[shohl-der]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shoulder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the part of each side of the body in humans, at the top of the trunk, extending from each side of the base of the neck to the region where the arm articulates with the trunk.

Usually shoulders. these two parts together with the part of the back joining them.

a corresponding part in animals.

the upper foreleg and adjoining parts of a sheep, goat, etc.

the joint connecting the arm or the foreleg with the trunk.

a shoulderlike part or projection.

Ornithology. the bend of a bird's wing, between the hand and the forearm, especially when distinctively colored, as in the red-shouldered hawk, Buteo lineatus.

a cut of meat that includes the upper joint of the foreleg.

Often shoulders. Informal. capacity for bearing responsibility or blame or sympathizing with other people: If you want to tell me your troubles, I have broad shoulders.

a steplike change in the contour of an object, as for opposing or limiting motion along it or for an abutment.

Carpentry.

the end surface or surfaces of a piece from which a tenon or tenons project.
an inclined and raised surface, as on a joggle post, for receiving and supporting the foot of a strut or the like.

Fortification. the angle of a bastion between the face and the flank.

Printing. the flat surface on a type body extending beyond the base of the letter or character.

the part of a garment that covers, or fits over, the shoulder.

(in leather manufacturing) that part of the hide anterior to the butt.

either of the two edges or borders along a road, especially that portion on which vehicles can be parked in emergencies.Compare soft shoulder.

shoulder season.

Furniture. knee(def 6).

verb (used with object)

to push with or as if with the shoulder, especially roughly: to shoulder someone aside.

to take upon, support, or carry on or as if on the shoulder or shoulders: He shouldered his knapsack and walked on.

to assume as a responsibility: to shoulder the expense.

verb (used without object)

to push with or as if with the shoulder: to shoulder through a crowd.

Idioms

cry on someone's shoulder, to reveal one's problems to another person in order to obtain sympathy: Don't cry on my shoulder—this mess is your own fault.

put one's shoulder to the wheel, to work energetically toward a goal; put forth effort: If we put our shoulders to the wheel, we'll be able to finish the job soon.

rub shoulders with, to come into association with; mingle with: As a social worker in one of the worst slum areas, she rubs shoulders with the poor and the helpless.

shoulder arms, Military.

to place a rifle muzzle upward on the right or left shoulder, with the buttstock in the corresponding hand.
the command to shoulder arms.

shoulder to shoulder, side by side; with united effort: The volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with the natives in harvesting the crops.

straight from the shoulder, without evasion; directly; candidly: The lawyer told him straight from the shoulder that his case was weak.

Origin of shoulder

before 900; (noun) Middle English sholder, s(c)hulder, Old English sculdor; cognate with Dutch schouder, German Schulter; (v.) Middle English shulderen, derivative of the noun

Related formsout·shoul·der, verb (used with object)re·shoul·der, verb (used with object)un·shoul·dered, adjective

Synonyms for shoulder

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shoulder ON THESAURUS.COM

21. bear, undertake, carry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shoulder

assume, accept, carry, bear, nudge, shove, press, elbow, thrust, bulldoze, hustle

Examples from the Web for shoulder

Contemporary Examples of shoulder

So I just patted him kind-like on the shoulder and sat down.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
But Liberty is always dipping his shoulder, whirling around.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
“I only touched his shoulder,” the pastor told sheriffs, according to the police report.
Exposed: The Gay-Bashing Pastor’s Same-Sex Assault
M.L. Nestel
December 21, 2014
Her mother, pregnant at the time of the killing, was hit in the shoulder by a bullet from the same gun that killed her son.
Drawing on the Memories of Syrian Women
Masha Hamilton
November 26, 2014
According to Ibrahim, the police officers grabbed him by the shoulder and struck him in the face.
In Jerusalem Home Demolitions, the Biblical Justice of Revenge
Creede Newton
November 25, 2014

Historical Examples of shoulder

His arm was about her waist, and hers rested on his shoulder.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He looked over her shoulder again, and saw that Shepler was waiting for her.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He accordingly approached our hero, and tapped him on the shoulder.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
He lifted Dennet on his shoulder, and bade her wave her parchment.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
“Thou art a good-hearted lad,” said the alderman with a hand on his shoulder.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for shoulder

shoulder

noun

the part of the vertebrate body where the arm or a corresponding forelimb joins the trunk: the pectoral girdle and associated structures

the joint at the junction of the forelimb with the pectoral girdle

a cut of meat including the upper part of the foreleg

printing the flat surface of a piece of type from which the face rises

tanning the portion of a hide covering the shoulders and neck of the animal, usually including the cheeks

the part of a garment that covers the shoulder

anything that resembles a shoulder in shape or position

the strip of unpaved land that borders a road

engineering a substantial projection or abrupt change in shape or diameter designed to withstand thrust

photog the portion of the characteristic curve of a photographic material indicating the maximum density that can be produced on the material

jewellery the part of a ring where the shank joins the setting

a shoulder to cry on a person one turns to for sympathy with one's troubles

give someone the cold shoulder informal

to treat someone in a cold manner; snub
to ignore or shun someone

put one's shoulder to the wheel informal to work very hard

rub shoulders with See rub (def. 11)

shoulder to shoulder

side by side or close together
in a corporate effort

verb

(tr) to bear or carry (a burden, responsibility, etc) as if on one's shoulders

to push (something) with or as if with the shoulder

(tr) to lift or carry on the shoulders

shoulder arms military to bring the rifle vertically close to the right side with the muzzle uppermost and held at the trigger guard

Word Origin for shoulder

Old English sculdor; related to Old High German sculterra

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

Word Origin and History for shoulder

Old English sculdor "shoulder," from West Germanic *skuldro (cf. Middle Dutch scouder, Dutch schouder, Old Frisian skoldere, Middle Low German scholder, Old High German scultra, German Schulter), of unknown origin, perhaps related to shield (n.). Meaning "edge of the road" is attested from 1933. Cold shoulder (Neh. ix:29) translates Latin humerum recedentum dare in Vulgate (but see cold shoulder). Shoulder-length, of hair, is from 1951.

c.1300, "to push with the shoulder," from shoulder (n.). Meaning "take a burden" first recorded 1580s. The military sense is from 1590s. Related: Shouldered; shouldering.

shoulder in Medicine