shire

noun \ ˈshī(-ə)r , in place-name compounds ˌshir , shər \

|Updated on: 9 May 2018

Definition of shire

1 : an administrative subdivision; especially : a county in England

2 : any of an old breed of large heavy draft horses of British origin having heavily feathered legs

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Recent Examples of shire from the Web

Since its inception, in ninth-century England—when the sheriff was called the shire reeve, or county guardian—the office has been a kind of one-man government.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "The Renegade Sheriffs," 23 Apr. 2018
Just before Sheela’s departure at the end of April, the shire council in Pemberton rejected the Rajneesh plans for Karri Valley, and the Australian minister of education ordered the new Rajneesh school there closed.

— win mccormack, The New Republic, "Bhagwan’s Final Year," 12 Apr. 2018
Muslims, Dreher has suggested, could form their own shires.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "Rod Dreher’s Race Problem," 25 Jan. 2018
These shires will be free of birth control pills, and transgender people, and presumably Aaliyah; the hobbits will speak Latin and revere liturgy and their insularity will protect them from everything and everyone that could corrupt them.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "Rod Dreher’s Race Problem," 25 Jan. 2018
Like Frodo, these features are unlikely saviors of the system (or the shire).

— sarah kaplan, Washington Post, "What Frodo the Hobbit can teach scientists about protecting the planet," 10 July 2017
Glen Plaid Originated: In Glenurquhart in Inverness-shire, Scotland, where the checked wool was first used in the 19th century.

— micaela english, Town & Country, "What Your Favorite Plaid Says About You," 14 Nov. 2014
Shire said the U.A.E. military base at Assab consists of an airport and a naval facility.

— nizar manek, Bloomberg.com, "U.A.E. May Fly Warplanes From Somalia as Africa Reach Grows," 24 May 2017
Everything is going so well that the town has reached out to New South Wales, hoping to get something going with the Australian shire of Bland.

— ken jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "Boring, Oregon and Dull, Scotland: Sister Cities United in Tedium," 17 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.