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Showing results for shire. Search instead for swire.
Synonyms

shire

1 American  
[shahyuhr] / ʃaɪər /

noun

  1. one of the counties of Great Britain.

  2. the Shires, the counties in the Midlands in which hunting is especially popular.

Shire 2 American  
[shahyuhr] / ʃaɪər /

noun

  1. one of an English breed of large, strong draft horses having a usually brown or bay coat with white markings.

Shiré 3 American  
[shee-rey] / ˈʃi reɪ /

noun

  1. a river in SE Africa, flowing S from Lake Malawi to the Zambezi River. 370 miles (596 km) long.

shire 1 British  
/ ʃaɪə /

noun

    1. one of the British counties

    2. ( in combination )

      Yorkshire

  2. (in Australia) a rural district having its own local council

  3. See shire horse

  4. the Midland counties of England, esp Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, famous for hunting, etc

"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
Shire 2 British  
/ ˈʃɪəreɪ /

noun

  1. a river in E central Africa, flowing from Lake Malawi through Malawi and Mozambique to the Zambezi. Length: 596 km (370 miles)

"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
shire 3 British  
/ ʃaɪə /

verb

  1. dialect (tr) to refresh or rest

    let me get my head shired
"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

Other Word Forms

  • subshire noun
  • undershire noun

Etymology

Origin of shire1

before 900; Middle English; Old English scīr office of administration, jurisdiction of such an office, county

Origin of Shire2

1875–80; apparently so called because it was bred in the shires, i.e., those counties of west and central England whose names end in -shire

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 not an easy thing to go through a grieving process... and it's particularly not easy when there's been so much attention," cattle farmer and councillor for the shire Nathan Hersey told the BBC.

From BBC

Labour loyalists and spin doctors will emphasise what is true – the elections being fought at council level are "us fighting in the shires", as one of them said.

From BBC

The CCN represents England's 20 county councils and 17 unitary authorities in shire areas.

From BBC

Rep. Eric Gallager, a Democrat from Concord, also wants to include an official pronunciation of “New Hampshire” in state law to make it clear that “shire” rhymes with “fur” not “fire.”

From Seattle Times

A pair of orphaned racehorse foals have been adopted by a shire horse in Devon.

From BBC

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.