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shoulder

[shohl-der]
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noun
  1. 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.
  2. Usually shoulders. these two parts together with the part of the back joining them.
  3. a corresponding part in animals.
  4. the upper foreleg and adjoining parts of a sheep, goat, etc.
  5. the joint connecting the arm or the foreleg with the trunk.
  6. a shoulderlike part or projection.
  7. 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.
  8. a cut of meat that includes the upper joint of the foreleg.
  9. 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.
  10. a steplike change in the contour of an object, as for opposing or limiting motion along it or for an abutment.
  11. Carpentry.
    1. the end surface or surfaces of a piece from which a tenon or tenons project.
    2. an inclined and raised surface, as on a joggle post, for receiving and supporting the foot of a strut or the like.
  12. Fortification. the angle of a bastion between the face and the flank.
  13. Printing. the flat surface on a type body extending beyond the base of the letter or character.
  14. the part of a garment that covers, or fits over, the shoulder.
  15. (in leather manufacturing) that part of the hide anterior to the butt.
  16. either of the two edges or borders along a road, especially that portion on which vehicles can be parked in emergencies.Compare soft shoulder.
  17. shoulder season.
  18. Furniture. knee(def 6).
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verb (used with object)
  1. to push with or as if with the shoulder, especially roughly: to shoulder someone aside.
  2. to take upon, support, or carry on or as if on the shoulder or shoulders: He shouldered his knapsack and walked on.
  3. to assume as a responsibility: to shoulder the expense.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to push with or as if with the shoulder: to shoulder through a crowd.
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Idioms
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. shoulder arms, Military.
    1. to place a rifle muzzle upward on the right or left shoulder, with the buttstock in the corresponding hand.
    2. the command to shoulder arms.
  5. shoulder to shoulder, side by side; with united effort: The volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with the natives in harvesting the crops.
  6. straight from the shoulder, without evasion; directly; candidly: The lawyer told him straight from the shoulder that his case was weak.
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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

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21. bear, undertake, carry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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

Examples from the Web for shoulder

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. the part of the vertebrate body where the arm or a corresponding forelimb joins the trunk: the pectoral girdle and associated structures
  2. the joint at the junction of the forelimb with the pectoral girdle
  3. a cut of meat including the upper part of the foreleg
  4. printing the flat surface of a piece of type from which the face rises
  5. tanning the portion of a hide covering the shoulders and neck of the animal, usually including the cheeks
  6. the part of a garment that covers the shoulder
  7. anything that resembles a shoulder in shape or position
  8. the strip of unpaved land that borders a road
  9. engineering a substantial projection or abrupt change in shape or diameter designed to withstand thrust
  10. photog the portion of the characteristic curve of a photographic material indicating the maximum density that can be produced on the material
  11. jewellery the part of a ring where the shank joins the setting
  12. a shoulder to cry on a person one turns to for sympathy with one's troubles
  13. give someone the cold shoulder informal
    1. to treat someone in a cold manner; snub
    2. to ignore or shun someone
  14. put one's shoulder to the wheel informal to work very hard
  15. rub shoulders with See rub (def. 11)
  16. shoulder to shoulder
    1. side by side or close together
    2. in a corporate effort
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verb
  1. (tr) to bear or carry (a burden, responsibility, etc) as if on one's shoulders
  2. to push (something) with or as if with the shoulder
  3. (tr) to lift or carry on the shoulders
  4. shoulder arms military to bring the rifle vertically close to the right side with the muzzle uppermost and held at the trigger guard
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
shoulder in Medicine

shoulder

(shōl′dər)
n.
  1. The joint connecting the arm with the torso.
  2. The part of the human body between the neck and upper arm.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with shoulder

shoulder

In addition to the idiom beginning with shoulder

  • shoulder to shoulder

also see:

  • broad shoulders
  • chip on one's shoulder
  • cold shoulder
  • cry on someone's shoulder
  • good head on one's shoulders
  • head and shoulders above
  • on one's shoulders
  • put one's shoulder to the wheel
  • rub elbows (shoulders) with
  • shrug one's shoulders
  • square one's shoulders
  • straight from the shoulder
  • weight of the world on one's shoulders
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.