shoulder

verb

Definition of shouldernext
1
as in to accept
to take to or upon oneself agreed to shoulder the burden of caring for their elderly father

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to push
to force one's way shouldered through the crowd at the bar and ordered a drink

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of shoulder Kalen DeBoer and Marcus Freeman each have title game appearances, but DeBoer is shouldering the weight of following Nick Saban at Alabama and has seen his stock trend slightly downward the last two years. — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Quarterback McKenzie Milton shouldered the primary burden, assembling a 37-touchdown season that scraped near Heisman talk. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026 Last month, the SEC agreed with law firm Latham Watkins that some data center debt would be exempt from securitization rules that require investment sponsors to shoulder some of the risk of their investments. — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026 The tough, steely competence of Anne Hathaway—the sense that her characters could shoulder the weight of the world, without complaint and on short notice—has been one of the more welcome recurring spectacles of this moviegoing year. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoulder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoulder
  1. accept
  2. push
  3. assume
  4. elbow
  5. bear
  6. squeeze
  7. undertake
Verb
  • Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam, 24, said she was raped on July 5 and pressured by the man's family to accept money and not go to police.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • After rigorous vetting, companies accepted into the Program will be authorized to conduct two types of cyber operations under the contract and direction of the Departments of Justice or Homeland Security.
    — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of accept
Verb
  • Uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again has roiled markets, causing oil prices to rise and pushing up Treasury yields due to worries over inflation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Smith's federal complaint included the same account and alleged that the school discriminated against her son because of his disability and race, including deploying pressure tactics to push her Black son out of the public school.
    — Claire Sibonney, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of push
Verb
  • Taylor has quickly assumed a leadership role, with her coach using her as an example of expectations.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Most of the people who are found dead there every year are assumed to be migrants, Hess says, because of the desert’s location on the southern border.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of assume
Verb
  • For a player who logged just 47 snaps last season and was limited during spring ball following offseason elbow surgery, this is a big jump.
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Becoming a content creator has officially elbowed out old standbys like doctor and astronaut as the job that Gen Z and Gen Alpha most aspire to have.
    — Julianna Pillemer, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of elbow
Verb
  • Once in Ukraine, Berezovska went straight home, to Horodyshche, according to Ukrainian prosecutors, a village near the city of Zhytomyr in central Ukraine where she was born in 1987.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Smekkleysa was born as a fledgling incubator, giving experimental musicians a space to, well, explore.
    — Erika Owen, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of bear
Verb
  • Questions no longer centre on marking this era with a trophy, but on how much juice is left to squeeze.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • To protect a specific area, such as a garden, Parker recommends properly installing snake fencing made from quarter-inch hardware cloth, which can help keep even newborn copperheads from squeezing through.
    — Rachel Silva, Martha Stewart, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of squeeze
Verb
  • West’s case also dovetailed with an anti-surrogacy campaign recently undertaken by some conservatives, Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis who specializes in reproductive health, told CNN.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The work was undertaken as U-46 adds sixth-graders to its middle school buildings, which previously housed just seventh and eighth grades.
    — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of undertake

Phrases Containing shoulder

Browse Nearby Words

should
shoulder
shoulder bag
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shoulder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoulder. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on shoulder

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shoulder

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tilde

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All