shoulders

verb

present tense third-person singular of shoulder
1
as in assumes
to take to or upon oneself agreed to shoulder the burden of caring for their elderly father

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pushes
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 shoulders Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein looked at who shoulders the cost of the tariffs, examining which part of the tariff reaches consumers through higher prices versus which share of the price hike is due to other factors. — Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026 Elordi nearly shoulders the running time but plays his Hig a bit too humbly. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 There are also fears the plan may spark a lawsuit as tensions between the states over who shoulders the cuts bubble over. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 Ashley Christopher, an attorney and Howard alumna whose son is a sophomore there, thinks Howard shoulders some blame. — Matt Brown, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 Maja witnessing her parents’ difficulties, quickly learns Danish and consequently shoulders the responsibility of an adult to support them. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Aug. 2026 In the run-up to the summit, Erdogan described Turkey as a reliable ally that consistently shoulders responsibility on NATO’s southeastern flank and will continue to play a leading role in the alliance. — ABC News, 1 July 2026 The least productive line of the four against Minnesota was the second unit, but that trio also shoulders significant defensive responsibilities. — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 20 May 2026 Cunningham shoulders the weight of a city thirsty for meaningful basketball. — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoulders
  1. assumes
  2. pushes
  3. accepts
  4. elbows
  5. bears
  6. squeezes
  7. muscles
Verb
  • In our example of the pond, simply comparing the number of possibilities assumes that each stone emits a wave independently.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For any executive whose roadmap assumes compute capacity coming online on schedule, that is now a line item.
    — Zev Laine, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of assumes
Verb
  • The company reincorporated from Delaware to Texas in 2024, and its charter pushes shareholder claims into mandatory arbitration and limits derivative suits to investors holding at least 3% of the stock—a stake worth tens of billions of dollars.
    — Heather Occhino, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other fortifications to what’s already one of the world’s most heavily armed borders as Kim Jong Un pushes a hard line toward Seoul.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of pushes
Verb
  • At the end of the chain, oxygen accepts the electrons and, together with protons, becomes water.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • After the portal accepts your filing Use the portal’s search function to locate an existing notice and monitor your filing record.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of accepts
Verb
  • Where the Cayenne’s steering is calibrated so that the road nudges the driver, Bentley’s elbows back at those perturbances.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Montana props himself up on a utility stool for our interview, elbows on a wood table, while holding his phone in his hand.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 30 July 2026
Definition of elbows
Verb
  • Americans, meanwhile, are weighing who benefits, who bears the costs—and who is accountable when things go wrong.
    — Will Johnson, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Teddy bears and trains, baseballs and dolls dance through the air into Santa's enormous sack, which sits at Santa's feet, or rather Harry's, who is perched high on the throne at the back of the float, magnificent in white whiskers and red velvet.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of bears
Verb
  • But the strain extends across the Global South, where developing nations struggle with a prolonged energy crisis that disproportionately squeezes the planet’s most deprived.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Meta squeezes two independent light-guiding cores into a single standard glass strand to double its bandwidth.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezes
Verb
  • Which muscles the farmer’s walk targets The move works nearly the entire body, but leg muscles, the core and shoulder muscles carry most of the load.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
  • One year later, the XFL muscles its way onto the national sports scene with its first two games.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Definition of muscles

Phrases Containing shoulders

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shouldering
shoulders
shout
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Cite this Entry

“Shoulders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoulders. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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