shore.
Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond.
Meaning & usage
Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond.
lake shore; bay shore; gulf shore; island shore; mainland shore; river shore; estuary shore; pond shore; sandy shore; rocky shore
Land, usually near a port.
The seamen were serving on shore instead of on ships.
The passengers signed up for shore tours.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English schore, from Old English *sċora (attested as sċor- in placenames), from Proto-Germanic *skurô (“rugged rock, cliff, high rocky shore”). Possibly related to Old English sċieran (“to cut”), which survives today as English shear. Cognate with Middle Dutch scorre (“land washed by the sea”), Middle Low German schor (“shore, coast, headland”), Middle High German schorre ("rocky crag, high rocky shore"; > German Schorre, Schorren (“towering rock, crag”)), and Limburgish sjaor (“riverbank”). Maybe connected with Norwegian Bokmål skjær.
To arrive at the shore
To put ashore.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English schore, from Old English *sċora (attested as sċor- in placenames), from Proto-Germanic *skurô (“rugged rock, cliff, high rocky shore”). Possibly related to Old English sċieran (“to cut”), which survives today as English shear. Cognate with Middle Dutch scorre (“land washed by the sea”), Middle Low German schor (“shore, coast, headland”), Middle High German schorre ("rocky crag, high rocky shore"; > German Schorre, Schorren (“towering rock, crag”)), and Limburgish sjaor (“riverbank”). Maybe connected with Norwegian Bokmål skjær.
A prop or strut supporting some structure or weight above it.
The shores stayed upright during the earthquake.
Where this word comes from
From Late Middle English shore (“a prop, a support”) [and other forms], from Middle Dutch schore, schare (“a prop, a stay”) (modern Dutch schoor), and Middle Low German schōre, schāre (“a prop, a stay; barrier; stockade”) (compare Old Norse skorða (“a prop, a stay”) (Norwegian skor, skorda)); further etymology unknown.
Not followed by up: to provide (something) with support.
Usually followed by up: to reinforce (something at risk of failure).
My family shored me up after I failed the GED.
The workers were shoring up the dock after part of it fell into the water.
Where this word comes from
From Late Middle English shoren (“to prop, to support”) [and other forms], from Middle English shore (“a prop, a support”) (see etymology 2) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive form of verbs); compare Middle Dutch schooren (“to prop up, support”) and Middle Low German schore (“to shovel; to sweep”).
A sewer.
Where this word comes from
Originally common-shore.
To threaten or warn unpleasant consequences (for someone); (sometimes) to threaten or warn off or scare away.
To threaten (to rain).
To offer or present (someone something).
Where this word comes from
Uncertain. The word is attested in Northern English and Scots; the DSL states that schore "to threaten" is attested before 1400 (a corresponding noun schoyr is attested since 1375: "vith gret schoyr and mannasyng" in Barbour's Bruce), and suggests it might ultimately be related to Old Scots schoir "steep (of a crag)", related to shear. Alternatively, it has been suggested that it might be a variant of score or sure and related to assure.
simple past of shear
Where this word comes from
See shear.
Pronunciation spelling of sure.
Pronunciation spelling of sure.
Pronunciation spelling of sure.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.