Shylock

American  

[shahy-lok] / ˈʃaɪ lɒk /

noun

1. a relentless and revengeful moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

2. a hard-hearted moneylender.

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verb (used without object)

1. (lowercase) to lend money at extortionate rates of interest.

Shylock British  

/ ˈʃaɪˌlɒk /

noun

1. a heartless or demanding creditor

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Shylock Cultural  

1. The merciless moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He demands a pound of flesh (see also pound of flesh) from the title character of the play after the merchant defaults on his debt.

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Discover More

Shylock is a Jew (see also Jews), and there has long been controversy over whether Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock contributes to prejudice against Jews. Shylock is a cruel miser and eventually is heavily fined and disgraced, but he maintains his dignity. At one point in the play, he makes a famous, eloquent assertion that his desire for revenge is the same desire that a Christian would feel in his place. “I am a Jew,” says Shylock. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?”

Other Word Forms

• Shylockian
  adjective
• Shylocky
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Shylock

C19: after Shylock, the name of the heartless usurer in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1596)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Shylock

But before Page reaches Iago, he spends time with Shylock from the “The Merchant of Venice.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026

Tracy-Ann Oberman is playing Shylock in Shakespeare's classic The Merchant of Venice, as the play is transported to 1930s London.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2024

He played Shylock in a 2005 production of “The Merchant of Venice” and Gremio in “The Taming of the Shrew,” among many other roles.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

“The essential nature of art is freedom,” said the Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, whose many credits include Shylock, the Jewish moneylender of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” though Mr. Abraham is not Jewish.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

After we closed our books, Mrs. Baker asked me to discuss the character of Shylock.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• bank
• banker