shah

noun

ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
variants often Shah
Synonyms of shahnext
: a sovereign of Iran
shahdom
ˈshä-dəm How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ-
noun

Examples of shah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Safavi was executed by the shah a decade later, when Ali Khamenei was a teenager. Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026 Khomeini was a leader of opposition to the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, an authoritarian who wanted to modernize the country. The Week Us, TheWeek, 10 Mar. 2026 Political figures within Iran criticized the idea of handing over the supreme leader’s title based on heredity and thereby creating a clerical version of the rule of the shah, who was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026 When millions of Iranians poured into the streets in 1979 to end the rule of the former shah, their revolution seemed to have put an end to the practice of passing power from father to son. Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 8 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shah

Word History

Etymology

Persian shāh king — more at check

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shah was in 1566

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shah. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

shah

noun
ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
: a ruler of Iran until the 1979 revolution

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