shore

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈshȯr 

often attributive

1

: the land bordering a usually large body of water

specifically : coast

2

: a boundary (as of a country) or an area within a boundary

—usually used in plural

immigrated to these shores

3

: land as distinguished from the sea

shipboard and shore duty

shore

2 of 3

noun (2)

: a prop for preventing sinking or sagging

shore

3 of 3

verb

shored; shoring

transitive verb

1

: to support by a shore : prop

2

: to give support to : brace

—usually used with up

trying to shore up his claim

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• brace
• buttress
• mount
• mounting
• prop
• reinforcement
• spur
• stay
• support
• underpinning

Verb

• bear
• bolster
• brace
• buttress
• carry
• prop (up)
• stay
• support
• sustain
• undergird
• underpin
• uphold

Examples of shore in a Sentence

Noun (2)

the carpenter placed a shore underneath the sagging roof of the porch

Verb

a highway tunnel shored up by massive columns of concrete

used an avalanche of statistics to shore up his claim that the state's economy is in fine shape

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Cecilia Rodriguez Dreaming of warm seas and quiet, sunny shores? —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025

Sandy shores, a deep blue ocean, swaying palm trees? —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 May 2025

Verb

Both police and a vessel owned by a passerby helped get 32 people to shore without any injuries, the outlet reported. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 5 May 2025

Homeland Security Investigations took Cargill to shore for questioning two days later, according to the complaint. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English *scor; akin to Middle Low German schōr foreland and perhaps to Old English scieran to cut — more at shear

Noun (2)

Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch scōre prop, Middle Low German schōre

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shore

• hug the shore
• lee shore
• shore dinner
• shore leave
• shore patrol
• shore up

Rhymes for shore

• boar
• boer
• bore
• chore
• cor
• core
• corps
• crore
• door
• drawer
• floor
• flor

Kids Definition

shore

1 of 3 noun

ˈshō(ə)r 

ˈshȯ(ə)r

: the land along the edge of a body of water (as the sea)

shore

2 of 3 verb

shored; shoring

: to support with one or more bracing timbers

shore up a house foundation

shore

3 of 3 noun

: a prop or support placed under or against something to support it

Etymology

Noun

Middle English shore "the land on the edge of a body of water"

Verb

Middle English shoren "to support, brace"