shoulder

CEFRA1

/ˈʃəʊldə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The joint connecting an arm to the body.

  2. 02

    verb

    To accept responsibility for something difficult.

Examples

  • Ian placed a hand on her shoulder.

  • The rich friend gave him the cold shoulder.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈʃoʊldɚ/

Deep Dive

noun

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

  2. The part of the human torso forming a relatively horizontal surface running away from the neck.

  3. The joint between the arm and the torso, sometimes including the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

More examples

In context
  • Bill tapped me on the shoulder.

  • He shouldered me out of my own band.

  • He stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway to change the flat tire.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She carried a heavy backpack on her blank during the long hike through the mountains.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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”).