shepherd

1 of 2

noun

shep·​herd ˈshe-pərd How to pronounce shepherd (audio)
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
The film follows a Chilean woman, Teresa, who comes into a firmly structured and isolated mountain community of Croatian shepherds in the early 20th century, claiming to be the widow of their émigré brother. Zac Ntim, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2025 Germany’s Beta Film confirmed production has begun on Rex – Vienna Calling, a six-part, feature-length revival of Beta’s iconic cop-and-dog series Rex, which will bring the titular German shepherd back to his original beat in Austria’s capital. Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
Russell’s, the smaller batch lineup from Wild Turkey that’s shepherded by master distiller Eddie Russell, released its first Single Rickhouse expression back in 2022. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2025 In the decades since, Horowitz went on to build VC giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), while Raghuram took his own path to VMware, rising to CEO in 2021, and two years later shepherding the cloud infrastructure giant through its $69 billion acquisition by Broadcom. Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025 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

1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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 22 Oct. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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