Link Centre Dictionary

shoulder

shoul·der

UK/ˈʃəʊldə/ US/ˈʃoʊldɚ/ common slang
noun (4) verb (3)

noun

1.

the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm

2.

a cut of beef from the shoulder of the animal

3.

a ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and a cavity of the scapula

Synonyms
4.

narrow edge of land (usually unpaved) along the side of a road

Synonyms

verb

1.

lift onto one''s shoulders

2.

push with the shoulders

  • “He shouldered his way into the crowd”
3.

carry a burden, either real or metaphoric

  • “shoulder the burden”

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • chip on one's shoulder
  • cold shoulder
  • cold shoulder sleeve
  • double shoulder lock
  • drop shoulder
  • frozen shoulder
  • give someone the cold shoulder
  • hard shoulder

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.