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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

shoulder.

The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and arm socket.

8 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈʃəʊldə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʃoʊldɚ/General-American
  1. The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and arm socket. The part of the human torso forming a relatively horizontal surface running away from the neck.

    The parrot was sitting on Steve's shoulder.
  2. The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and arm socket. The joint between the arm and the torso, sometimes including the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

  3. The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and arm socket. A cut of meat comprising the upper joint of the foreleg and the surrounding muscle.

  4. The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and arm socket. The portion of a garment where the shoulder is clothed.

  5. Anything forming a shape resembling a human shoulder.

  6. A shelf between two levels. A usually unsealed strip of land bordering a road, where vehicles can drive or park in an emergency.

    He stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway to change the flat tire.
  7. A shelf between two levels. The portion of a hill or mountain just below the peak.

  8. A shelf between two levels. A lateral protrusion of a hill or mountain.

  9. A shelf between two levels. The angle of a bastion included between the face and flank.

  10. A shelf between two levels. An abrupt projection which forms an abutment on an object, or limits motion, etc., such as the projection around a tenon at the end of a piece of timber.

  11. The flat portion of type that is below the bevelled portion that joins up with the face.

  12. The portion between the neck and the body. The rounded portion of a stringed instrument where the neck joins the body.

  13. The portion between the neck and the body. The rounded portion of a bottle where the neck meets the body.

  14. The portion between the neck and the body. The angled section between the neck and the main body of a cartridge.

  15. That which supports or sustains; support.

    figuratively
  16. The part of a key between the cuts and the bow.

  17. The part of a wave that has not yet broken.

  18. A season or a time of day when there is relatively little air traffic.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sċuldra, sċuldor (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuldru (“shoulder”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), see shield. Cognate with Old Frisian skuldere (“shoulder”) (West Frisian skouder (“shoulder”)), Middle Low German scholder (“shoulder”), Low German Schuller, Schulder (“shoulder”), Dutch schouder (“shoulder”), German Schulter (“shoulder”).

verb/ˈʃəʊldə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʃoʊldɚ/General-American
  1. To push (a person or thing) using one's shoulder.

    transitive
  2. To bully, manipulate or pull rank on (somebody).

    broadly · transitive
    He shouldered me out of my own band.
  3. To put (something) on one's shoulders.

    transitive
  4. To place (something) against one's shoulders.

    transitive
  5. To bear a burden, as a financial obligation.

    figuratively · transitive
  6. To accept responsibility for.

    figuratively · transitive
    shoulder the blame
  7. To form a shape resembling a shoulder.

    transitive
  8. To move by or as if by using one's shoulders.

    intransitive
  9. To round and slightly raise the top edges of slate shingles so that they form a tighter fit at the lower edge and can be swung aside to expose the nail.

    transitive
  10. To slope downwards from the crest and whitewater portion of a wave.

    intransitive
  11. Of a servant: to embezzle money from (the employer).

    archaic · slang · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sċuldra, sċuldor (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuldru (“shoulder”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), see shield. Cognate with Old Frisian skuldere (“shoulder”) (West Frisian skouder (“shoulder”)), Middle Low German scholder (“shoulder”), Low German Schuller, Schulder (“shoulder”), Dutch schouder (“shoulder”), German Schulter (“shoulder”).

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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.