What does "shoulder" mean?
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.
Shoulder
/ˈʃəʊldə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: shoulder is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: berm, shoulder joint, abutment, accept.
- Useful contrasts: armpits, avoid, centerline.
- Usage evidence: Bill tapped me on the shoulder.
How to use "shoulder"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shoulder" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shoulder" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shoulder" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shoulder" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shoulder" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "berm" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shoulder", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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 a narrow edge of land (usually unpaved) along the side of a road wordnet
- 3 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.
- 4 the part of a garment that covers or fits over the shoulder wordnet
- 5 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.
"In the firſt Courſe there was a Shoulder of Mutton, cut into an Æquilateral Triangle, a Piece of Beef into a Rhomboides, and a Pudding into a Cycloid."
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm wordnet
- 7 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.
- 8 a ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and a cavity of the scapula wordnet
- 9 Anything forming a shape resembling a human shoulder.
- 10 a cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg wordnet
- 11 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."
- 12 A shelf between two levels.; The portion of a hill or mountain just below the peak.
"[…]the north-western shoulder of the mountain[…]"
- 13 A shelf between two levels.; A lateral protrusion of a hill or mountain.
"I certainly was not prepared for the cosy nestling valleys that snuggled against the shoulders of the hills; a land where the graystone cottages and farmsteads still prevailed, but where they had taken on something of the softness of their kind in Gloucester and the Cotswolds, and seemed almost like growths of the soil; […]."
- 14 A shelf between two levels.; The angle of a bastion included between the face and flank.
- 15 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.
- 16 The flat portion of type that is below the bevelled portion that joins up with the face.
- 17 The portion between the neck and the body.; The rounded portion of a stringed instrument where the neck joins the body.
- 18 The portion between the neck and the body.; The rounded portion of a bottle where the neck meets the body.
- 19 The portion between the neck and the body.; The angled section between the neck and the main body of a cartridge.
- 20 That which supports or sustains; support. figuratively
"passage[…]in thy ſhoulder do I builde my Seate;"
- 21 The part of a key between the cuts and the bow.
- 22 The part of a wave that has not yet broken.
"You see you're going to make it into the safety of the shoulder. It feels like the happiest day of your life."
- 23 A season or a time of day when there is relatively little air traffic.
"For a round-trip journey starting from the UK during the shoulder period (1 April-30 June) […]"
Verb
- 1 To push (a person or thing) using one's shoulder. transitive
"[…]As they the earth would ſhoulder from her ſeat,[…]"
- 2 push with the shoulders wordnet
- 3 To bully, manipulate or pull rank on (somebody). broadly, transitive
"He shouldered me out of my own band."
- 4 carry a burden, either real or metaphoric wordnet
- 5 To put (something) on one's shoulders. transitive
"Early in the morning they shouldered light packs, took their rifles, crossed the big draw, and entered the timber where was the deadfall."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 lift onto one's shoulders wordnet
- 7 To place (something) against one's shoulders. transitive
"All three sets are nicely sculptured along the bottom to prevent interference when shouldering your gun with proper shooting form."
- 8 To bear a burden, as a financial obligation. figuratively, transitive
"The shareholders were then shouldering a burden of liability out of proportion to their mere ownership of theoretical fractions of the business."
- 9 To accept responsibility for. figuratively, transitive
"shoulder the blame"
- 10 To form a shape resembling a shoulder. transitive
"allowance at the bottom of blind bores for the chamfered tip of the reamer will obviate additional operations with shouldering or bottoming reamers to completely finish the entire length of a hole."
- 11 To move by or as if by using one's shoulders. intransitive
"The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass, or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine, seemed to make the stillness more oppressive."
- 12 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
- 13 To slope downwards from the crest and whitewater portion of a wave. intransitive
- 14 Of a servant: to embezzle money from (the employer). archaic, slang, transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Bill tapped me on the shoulder."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shoulder"?
Common synonyms include: berm, shoulder joint, abutment, accept, accept, acromial region.
How do you use "shoulder" in a sentence?
Bill tapped me on the shoulder.
How do you pronounce "shoulder"?
Pronounced /ˈʃəʊldə/.
Etymology
From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sculdra, sculdor (“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”).