Library / English Dictionary

SHOULDER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

the car pulled off onto the shoulder

Synonyms:

berm; shoulder

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shoulder" is a kind of...):

edge (the outside limit of an object or area or surface; a place farthest away from the center of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shoulder"):

hard shoulder (a paved strip beside a motorway (for stopping in emergencies))

Holonyms ("shoulder" is a part of...):

road; route (an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The part of a garment that covers or fits over the shoulder

Example:

an ornamental gold braid on the shoulder of his uniform

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shoulder" is a kind of...):

cloth covering (a covering made of cloth)

Holonyms ("shoulder" is a part of...):

garment (an article of clothing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("shoulder" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Meronyms (parts of "shoulder"):

armpit; axilla; axillary cavity; axillary fossa (the hollow under the arm where it is joined to the shoulder)

teres; teres muscle (either of two muscles in the shoulder region that move the shoulders and arms)

Holonyms ("shoulder" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Derivation:

shoulder (push with the shoulders)

shoulder (carry a burden, either real or metaphoric)

shoulder (lift onto one's shoulders)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

articulatio humeri; shoulder; shoulder joint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("shoulder" is a kind of...):

articulatio spheroidea; ball-and-socket joint; cotyloid joint; enarthrodial joint; enarthrosis; spheroid joint (a freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone)

Meronyms (parts of "shoulder"):

rotator cuff (a supporting structure of the shoulder consisting of the muscles and tendons that attach the arm to the shoulder joint and enable the arm to move)

arteria circumflexa scapulae; circumflex scapular artery (an artery that serves the muscles of the shoulder and scapular area)

arteria circumflexa humeri; circumflex humeral artery (an artery that supplies the shoulder joint and shoulder muscles)

scapula; shoulder blade; shoulder bone (either of two flat triangular bones one on each side of the shoulder in human beings)

Holonyms ("shoulder" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Derivation:

shoulder (lift onto one's shoulders)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("shoulder" is a kind of...):

cut; cut of meat (a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass)

Holonyms ("shoulder" is a part of...):

chuck (the part of a forequarter from the neck to the ribs and including the shoulder blade)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Push with the shoulders

Example:

He shouldered his way into the crowd

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shoulder" is one way to...):

thrust (push forcefully)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

shoulder (the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Carry a burden, either real or metaphoric

Example:

shoulder the burden

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shoulder" is one way to...):

carry; transport (move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

shoulder (the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lift onto one's shoulders

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shoulder" is one way to...):

bring up; elevate; get up; lift; raise (raise from a lower to a higher position)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

shoulder (the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm)

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

Well, we can't have it, so don't let us grumble but shoulder our bundles and trudge along as cheerfully as Marmee does.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

A triangular muscle in the back, connected to the vertebral column, arm, and shoulder.

(Musculus Latissimus Dorsi, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual is or was bothered by shoulder stiffness.

(Bothered by Shoulder Stiffness, NCI Thesaurus)

The group obtained cells from biopsies from the shoulder area of 2 normal weight adults and grew them in culture dishes.

(Insights into Energy-Burning Fat Cells, NIH)

About 250 million years ago, a new region evolved near the shoulders and front legs.

(What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists, National Science Foundation)

You may also feel pain in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back.

(Angina, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

He put his hands on the Professor's shoulder, and laying his head on his breast, cried for a while silently, whilst we stood unmoving.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

If he did shrug his shoulders, it was not till Sir William was out of sight.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Even as they looked, he lifted it to his shoulder and fired twice.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)