shamrock
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shamrock
1565–75; < Irish seamróg, equivalent to seamair clover + -óg diminutive suffix
Compare meaning
How does shamrock compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A shamrock is a three-leafed green clover that's used to symbolize Ireland. Go all out for St. Patrick's Day this year — decorate your whole house with shamrocks! A clover must have exactly three leaves to be a shamrock, and some people believe only certain clover varieties qualify. Since at least 1675, Catholics have associated the shamrock with Saint Patrick, who famously used it to represent the Holy Trinity. It wasn't until the 18th century that it shifted from representing Ireland's patron saint to Ireland itself. The shamrock even shows up on some British coins, alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle.
Vocabulary lists containing shamrock
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Green
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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.
See Examples For:
But such information would only have puzzled Trump and complicated the shamrock bonhomie, and Vance — a Roman Catholic convert, after all — beamed in silence from the sofa.
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2025
The TK kids went to another table with instructional aide Eleanor Dorton to make shamrock crafts with pipe cleaners and beads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
The Princess of Wales is wearing an Alexander McQueen dress in ivory silk crepe with silver bullion and embroidery featuring the floral emblems of the UK - rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.
From BBC ● May 6, 2023
Her 8-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, wore a similar headpiece and ivory McQueen dress with cape, embroidered with rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs to represent the four countries of the United Kingdom.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2023
“She wanted a charm bracelet. With ballet slippers, a heart, and a shamrock for luck.”
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
When the Irish visit the White House each year, they traditionally bring a bowl of shamrocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
JD Vance, who attended the same meeting, didn't miss his own chance to pay homage to the Irish prime minister, donning a pair of cream-coloured socks that were - fittingly - adorned with green shamrocks.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
Varadkar is expected to present Biden with an engraved crystal bowl of shamrocks, a tradition that began in 1952.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
For her historic 2011 visit to Ireland, Elizabeth wore a green outfit to meet then President Mary McAleese, while her evening gown for a state banquet featured silk shamrocks.
From Reuters ● May 18, 2022
They had walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, so that it looked as though small, oddly shaped hillocks had sprouted out of the earth.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
