shepherd

1 of 2

noun

shep·​herd ˈshe-pərd How to pronounce shepherd (audio)
Synonyms of shepherdnext
1
: a person who tends sheep
2
: pastor
3

shepherd

2 of 2

verb

shepherded; shepherding; shepherds

transitive verb

1
: to tend as a shepherd
2
: to guide or guard in the manner of a shepherd
shepherded the bill through Congress

Examples of shepherd in a Sentence

Verb She carefully shepherded the children across the street. They shepherded the bill through Congress.
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.
Noun
Karyn Cordner’s Raven, a five-year-old black German shepherd with a soft coat of fur, was being trained to become a guide dog by the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in Bloomfield when the Simsbury resident first met her. Mikayla Bunnell, Hartford Courant, 11 Apr. 2026 But some of the stars were Tutti Frutti (German shepherd, adopted); Grapes (another German shepherd, adopted); Catfinated Beverage (orange tabby, adopted); Beep Beep (Australian cattle dog, adopted); Spatula (whippet, adopted); and Lawn Mower the French bulldog (adopted). Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
Meanwhile, his successors at Netflix have shepherded the former DVD-by-mail company into a goliath with more than 325 million global subscribers and have built new revenue streams in advertising and merchandise. Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026 Bock, whose real name was Wally Maher, did sports commentary on Top 40 radio and local TV news in the 1970s and ’80s, then shepherded the arrival of sports talk radio in Atlanta on both 680/The Fan and 790/The Zone in the 1990s. Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shepherd

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sheepherde, from Old English scēaphyrde, from scēap sheep + hierde herdsman; akin to Old English heord herd

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1822, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of shepherd was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shepherd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shepherd. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

shepherd

1 of 2 noun
shep·​herd ˈshep-ərd How to pronounce shepherd (audio)
1
: a person who takes care of sheep
2

shepherd

2 of 2 verb
: to care for as or as if a shepherd

More from Merriam-Webster on shepherd

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster