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soft shoulder

American  

noun

  1. the unpaved edge of a road.

soft shoulder British  

noun

  1. a soft edge along the side of a road that is unsuitable for vehicles to drive on

"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

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.

It's a simple move out the playbook from a line-out, Ilaria Arrighetti hits a soft shoulder and pops to D'Inca who is absolutely flying.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2024

New cap Izaia Perese found a soft shoulder to start it all before Leota thundered through Pierre Schoeman and Sam Skinner to score.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2021

Iraq war veteran Jason Aitchison says another man in a Mercury started it by “driving crazy,” cutting him off in traffic, and forcing him onto a soft shoulder.

From Washington Times • Nov. 6, 2016

Pulling off onto the soft shoulder, he felt a certain resistance from the undercarriage.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 22, 2010

I want to rest on her soft shoulder, but I know I only have until Spencer comes back from the commercial break.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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.