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9 dictionary results for: Shoulder
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
shoul·der       [shohl-der] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.the part of each side of the body in humans, at the top of the trunk, extending from each side of the base of the neck to the region where the arm articulates with the trunk.
2.Usually, shoulders. these two parts together with the part of the back joining them.
3.a corresponding part in animals.
4.the upper foreleg and adjoining parts of a sheep, goat, etc.
5.the joint connecting the arm or the foreleg with the trunk.
6.a shoulderlike part or projection.
7.Ornithology. the bend of a bird's wing, between the hand and the forearm, esp. when distinctively colored, as in the red-shouldered hawk, Buteo lineatus.
8.a cut of meat that includes the upper joint of the foreleg.
9.Often, shoulders. Informal. capacity for bearing responsibility or blame or sympathizing with other people: If you want to tell me your troubles, I have broad shoulders.
10.a steplike change in the contour of an object, as for opposing or limiting motion along it or for an abutment.
11.Carpentry.
a.the end surface or surfaces of a piece from which a tenon or tenons project.
b.an inclined and raised surface, as on a joggle post, for receiving and supporting the foot of a strut or the like.
12.Fortification. the angle of a bastion between the face and the flank.
13.Printing. the flat surface on a type body extending beyond the base of the letter or character.
14.the part of a garment that covers, or fits over, the shoulder.
15.(in leather manufacturing) that part of the hide anterior to the butt.
16.either of the two edges or borders along a road, esp. that portion on which vehicles can be parked in emergencies. Compare soft shoulder.
17.shoulder season.
18.Furniture. knee (def. 6).
–verb (used with object)
19.to push with or as if with the shoulder, esp. roughly: to shoulder someone aside.
20.to take upon, support, or carry on or as if on the shoulder or shoulders: He shouldered his knapsack and walked on.
21.to assume as a responsibility: to shoulder the expense.
–verb (used without object)
22.to push with or as if with the shoulder: to shoulder through a crowd.
—Idioms
23.cry on someone's shoulder, to reveal one's problems to another person in order to obtain sympathy: Don't cry on my shoulder—this mess is your own fault.
24.put one's shoulder to the wheel, to work energetically toward a goal; put forth effort: If we put our shoulders to the wheel, we'll be able to finish the job soon.
25.rub shoulders with, to come into association with; mingle with: As a social worker in one of the worst slum areas, she rubs shoulders with the poor and the helpless.
26.shoulder arms, Military.
a.to place a rifle muzzle upward on the right or left shoulder, with the buttstock in the corresponding hand.
b.the command to shoulder arms.
27.shoulder to shoulder, side by side; with united effort: The volunteers worked shoulder to shoulder with the natives in harvesting the crops.
28.straight from the shoulder, without evasion; directly; candidly: The lawyer told him straight from the shoulder that his case was weak.
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME sholder, s(c)hulder, OE sculdor; c. D schouder, G Schulter; (v.) ME shulderen, deriv. of the n.]

—Synonyms 21. bear, undertake, carry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
shoul·der       (shōl'dər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. The joint connecting the arm with the torso.
    2. The part of the human body between the neck and upper arm.
    3. The joint of a vertebrate animal that connects the forelimb to the trunk.
    4. The part of an animal near this joint.
    5. The part of a bird's wing between the wrist and the trunk.
    6. The angle between the face and flank of a bastion in a fortification.
    7. The area between the body and neck of a bottle or vase.
    8. The end surface of a board from which a tenon projects.
    9. Printing The flat surface on the body of type that extends beyond the letter or character.
    1. The joint of a vertebrate animal that connects the forelimb to the trunk.
    2. The part of an animal near this joint.
    3. The part of a bird's wing between the wrist and the trunk.
    4. The angle between the face and flank of a bastion in a fortification.
    5. The area between the body and neck of a bottle or vase.
    6. The end surface of a board from which a tenon projects.
    7. Printing The flat surface on the body of type that extends beyond the letter or character.
  3. The area of the back from one shoulder to the other. Often used in the plural.
  4. A cut of meat including the joint of the foreleg and adjacent parts.
  5. The portion of a garment that covers the shoulder.
  6. An angled or sloping part, as:
    1. The angle between the face and flank of a bastion in a fortification.
    2. The area between the body and neck of a bottle or vase.
    3. The end surface of a board from which a tenon projects.
    4. Printing The flat surface on the body of type that extends beyond the letter or character.
  7. The area of an item or object that serves as an abutment or surrounds a projection, as:
    1. The end surface of a board from which a tenon projects.
    2. Printing The flat surface on the body of type that extends beyond the letter or character.
  8. The edge or border running on either side of a roadway.

v.   shoul·dered, shoul·der·ing, shoul·ders

v.   tr.
  1. To carry or place (a burden, for example) on the shoulders.
  2. To take on; assume: shouldered the blame for his friends.
  3. To push or apply force to, with or as if with the shoulder.
  4. To make (one's way) by or as if by shoving obstacles with one's shoulders.

v.   intr.
  1. To push with the shoulders.
  2. To make one's way by or as if by shoving obstacles with one's shoulders.


[Middle English shulder, from Old English sculdor.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
shoulder 
O.E. sculdor, from W.Gmc. *skuldro (cf. M.Du. scouder, Du. schouder, O.Fris. skoldere, M.L.G. scholder, O.H.G. scultra, Ger. Schulter), of unknown origin, perhaps related to shield. Meaning "edge of the road" is attested from 1933. The verb is first attested c.1300 with sense "to push with the shoulder;" meaning "take a burden" first recorded 1582. Cold shoulder (Neh. ix:29) translates L. humerum recedentum dare in Vulgate (but see alternate explanation under cold).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
shoulder

noun
1. the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm 
2. a cut of meat including the upper joint of the foreleg 
3. a ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and a cavity of the scapula 
4. the part of a garment that covers or fits over the shoulder; "an ornamental gold braid on the shoulder of his uniform" 
5. a narrow edge of land (usually unpaved) along the side of a road; "the car pulled off onto the shoulder" 

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" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

shoulder

In addition to the idiom beginning with shoulder, also see broad shoulders; chip on one's shoulder; cold shoulder; cry on someone's shoulder; good head on one's shoulders; head and shoulders above; on one's shoulders; put one's shoulder to the wheel; rub elbows (shoulders) with; shrug one's shoulders; square one's shoulders; straight from the shoulder; weight of the world on one's shoulders.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

shoulder shoul·der (shōl'dər)
n.

  1. The joint connecting the arm with the torso.
  2. The part of the human body between the neck and upper arm.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shoulder

Shoul"der\, v. i. To push with the shoulder; to make one's way, as through a crowd, by using the shoulders; to move swaying the shoulders from side to side.

A yoke of the great sulky white bullocks . . . came shouldering along together. --Kipling.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Shoulder

Shoul"der\, n. [OE. shulder, shuldre, schutder, AS. sculdor; akin to D. schoulder, G. schulter, OHG. scultarra, Dan. skulder, Sw. skuldra.]

1. (Anat.) The joint, or the region of the joint, by which the fore limb is connected with the body or with the shoulder girdle; the projection formed by the bones and muscles about that joint.

2. The flesh and muscles connected with the shoulder joint; the upper part of the back; that part of the human frame on which it is most easy to carry a heavy burden; -- often used in the plural.

Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders bore The gates of Azza. --Milton.

Adown her shoulders fell her length of hair. --Dryden.

3. Fig.: That which supports or sustains; support.

In thy shoulder do I build my seat. --Shak.

4. That which resembles a human shoulder, as any protuberance or projection from the body of a thing.

The north western shoulder of the mountain. --Sir W. Scott.

5. The upper joint of the fore leg and adjacent parts of an animal, dressed for market; as, a shoulder of mutton.

6. (Fort.) The angle of a bastion included between the face and flank. See Illust. of Bastion.

7. An abrupt projection which forms an abutment on an object, or limits motion, etc., as the projection around a tenon at the end of a piece of timber, the part of the top of a type which projects beyond the base of the raised character, etc.

Shoulder belt, a belt that passes across the shoulder.

Shoulder blade (Anat.), the flat bone of the shoulder, to which the humerus is articulated; the scapula.

Shoulder block (Naut.), a block with a projection, or shoulder, near the upper end, so that it can rest against a spar without jamming the rope.

Shoulder clapper, one who claps another on the shoulder, or who uses great familiarity. [Obs.] --Shak.

Shoulder girdle. (Anat.) See Pectoral girdle, under Pectoral.

Shoulder knot, an ornamental knot of ribbon or lace worn on the shoulder; a kind of epaulet or braided ornament worn as part of a military uniform.

Shoulder-of-mutton sail (Naut.), a triangular sail carried on a boat's mast; -- so called from its shape.

Shoulder slip, dislocation of the shoulder, or of the humerous. --Swift.

Shoulder strap, a strap worn on or over the shoulder. Specifically (Mil. & Naval), a narrow strap worn on the shoulder of a commissioned officer, indicating, by a suitable device, the rank he holds in the service. See Illust. in App.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Shoulder

Shoul"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shouldered; p. pr. & vb. n. Shouldering.]

1. To push or thrust with the shoulder; to push with violence; to jostle.

As they the earth would shoulder from her seat. --Spenser.

Around her numberless the rabble flowed, Shouldering each other, crowding for a view. --Rowe.

2. To take upon the shoulder or shoulders; as, to shoulder a basket; hence, to assume the burden or responsibility of; as, to shoulder blame; to shoulder a debt.

As if Hercules Or burly Atlas shouldered up their state. --Marston.

Right shoulder arms (Mil.), a position in the Manual of Arms which the piece is placed on the right shoulder, with the lock plate up, and the muzzle elevated and inclined to the left, and held as in the illustration.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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