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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
  • Legacy SaaS assumes a human will return to the interface, and an AI-native platform assumes an agent is always running.
    — Rafael Flores, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The low case assumes almost two-thirds of current reactors are expected to retire.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumes
Verb
  • Stitt pushes and unloads the heavy cart while Bayless guides the way with their list, checking off household staples like bottled water, sugar and toilet paper.
    — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The constant contrast between pristine nature and industrial machinery is accompanied by a discordant synth-heavy score by composer Robert Nacken, that, at times, pushes the film along and, at others, deliberately drags against it.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of pushes
Verb
  • That boyish man is Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who accepts a job that will take him outside his normal route to Raccoon City, which unbeknownst to him has become overrun by monsters.
    — Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, this perspective accepts environmental degradation as a sign that Jesus will soon return to Earth.
    — Sydney Giacalone, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 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
  • Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him, or as flying in an airplane does to falling out of an airplane.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Mission Efficiency, as it's called, bears more than a passing resemblance to VW's XL1 from 2013, and the similarities are more than skin deep.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of bears
Verb
  • People’s financial margin for error is generally pretty small, and just the rising cost of most everything just squeezes them more and more.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Avoiding outlier squeezes requires implementing strict criteria before entering trades.
    — David Capablanca, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 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 24 Sep. 2026.

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