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Added 8 October 2026

shore

/ʃɔː/ noun

In Latin: rīpa, ora Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shore at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond.
lake shore; bay shore; gulf shore; island shore; mainland shore; river shore; estuary shore; pond shore; sandy shore; rocky shore
Land, usually near a port.
The seamen were serving on shore instead of on ships.

verb

To arrive at the shore
To put ashore.

noun

A prop or strut supporting some structure or weight above it.
The shores stayed upright during the earthquake.

verb

Not followed by up: to provide (something) with support.
Usually followed by up: to reinforce (something at risk of failure).
My family shored me up after I failed the GED.

Origin

From Middle English schore, from Old English *sċora (attested as sċor- in placenames), from Proto-Germanic *skurô (“rugged rock, cliff, high rocky shore”). Possibly related to Old English sċieran (“to cut”), which survives today as English shear. Cognate with Middle Dutch scorre (“land washed by the sea”), Middle Low German schor (“shore, coast, headland”), Middle High German schorre ("rocky crag, high rocky shore"; > German Schorre, Schorren (“towering rock, crag”)), and Limburgish sjaor (“riverbank”). Maybe connected with Norwegian Bokmål skjær.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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