shoulder
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and forearm socket.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shohlderSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃoʊldɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and forearm socket.
The part of the human torso forming a relatively horizontal surface running away from the neck.
anatomy
The joint between the arm and the torso, sometimes including the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
A cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg
A usually unsealed strip of land bordering a road, where vehicles can drive or park in an emergency.
The portion of a hill or mountain just below the peak.
verb
transitivefiguratively
To bear a burden, as a financial obligation.
transitive
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.
intransitive
To slope downwards from the crest and whitewater portion of a wave.
transitiveby extension
To bully, manipulate or pull rank on (somebody).
transitivefiguratively
To accept responsibility for.
transitive
To push (a person or thing) using one's shoulder.
“He shouldered his way into the crowd.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The part of an animal's body between the base of the neck and forearm socket.
Used this way, shoulder is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shoulder
- “The car pulled off onto the shoulder.”noun
- “He shouldered his way into the crowd.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Having shoulders or shoulders as specified.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Either of two flat triangular bones one on each side of the shoulder in human beings.
Epaulets that indicate rank.
Either of two flat triangular bones one on each side of the shoulder in human beings.
Something worn on the shoulder of a military uniform as an emblem of a division etc.
The bony arch formed by the collarbones and shoulder blades in humans.
A holster worn over your shoulder so a gun can be concealed under your jacket.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.