shoulder
n. countablen. the part of your body where your arm joins your neck. You use it to carry bags or to help move heavy things.
n. the joint connecting the arm with the torso, or the area of the body including this joint and the surrounding muscles.
He carried the heavy bag on his left shoulder.
The athlete suffered a minor injury to her shoulder during the final minutes of the championship game.
The surgeon explained that the shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the human body, which also makes it particularly susceptible to dislocation and strain.
From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sculdra, sculdor (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic skuldru (“shoulder”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic skelduz (“shield”), see shield. Cognate with Old Frisian skuldere (“shoulder”) (West Frisian skouder (“shoulder”)), Middle Low German scholder (“shoulder”), Low German Schuller, Schulder (“shoulder”), Dutch schouder (“shoulder”), German Schulter (“shoulder”).
Often used in the plural when referring to a person's physical build or their capacity to handle responsibility.
- 01
chip on one's shoulder
A habitually combative attitude, usually because of a harbored grievance, a sense of inferiority, or a desire to prove something.
- 02
cold shoulder
A deliberate act of disrespect; a slight or snub.
- 03
give someone the cold shoulder
To snub, resist or reject somebody; to regard somebody distantly.