Shylock
Americannoun
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a relentless and revengeful moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
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a hard-hearted moneylender.
verb (used without object)
noun
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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
Etymology
Origin of Shylock
C19: after Shylock, the name of the heartless usurer in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1596)
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.
But before Page reaches Iago, he spends time with Shylock from the “The Merchant of Venice.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
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
British actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is Jewish and currently playing Jewish character Shylock in a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, wrote about representation in a post on Instagram this week.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023
When John Douglas Thompson let it be known he wanted to play Shylock, one of the most provocative starring roles in Shakespeare, that was all Arin Arbus needed to hear.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2022
I suddenly wondered if my father was really like Shylock.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
