shoulder
♦♦ shoul|der /ʃ'oʊldər/ (shoulders shouldering shouldered)
1 [N-COUNT] oft poss N
Your shoulders are between your neck and the tops of your arms.
She led him to an armchair, with her arm round his shoulder...
He glanced over his shoulder and saw me watching him.
2 [N-COUNT]
The shoulders of a piece of clothing are the parts that cover your shoulders.
...extravagant fashions with padded shoulders.
3 [N-PLURAL] poss N
When you talk about someone's problems or responsibilities, you can say that they carry them on their shoulders.
No one suspected the anguish he carried on his shoulders...
4 [VERB] V n
If you shoulder the responsibility or the blame for something, you accept it.
He has had to shoulder the responsibility of his father's mistakes...
= accept
5 [VERB] V n
If you shoulder something heavy, you put it across one of your shoulders so that you can carry it more easily.
The rest of the group shouldered their bags, gritted their teeth and set off...
6 [VERB] V n with aside, V way prep/adv, V past/through n
If you shoulder someone aside or if you shoulder your way somewhere, you push past people roughly using your shoulder.
The policemen rushed past him, shouldering him aside...
She could do nothing to stop him as he shouldered his way into the house...
He shouldered past Harlech and opened the door.
7 [N-VAR]
A shoulder is a joint of meat from the upper part of the front leg of an animal.
...shoulder of lamb.
8
see also cold-shoulder, hard shoulder
9 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If someone offers you a shoulder to cry on or is a shoulder to cry on, they listen sympathetically as you talk about your troubles.
Roland sometimes saw me as a shoulder to cry on.
10 [PHRASE] PHR above n
If you say that someone or something stands head and shoulders above other people or things, you mean that they are a lot better than them.
The two candidates stood head and shoulders above the rest...
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If two or more people stand shoulder to shoulder, they are standing next to each other, with their shoulders touching.
They fell into step, walking shoulder to shoulder with their heads bent against the rain...
12 [PHRASE] usu v PHR
If people work or stand shoulder to shoulder, they work together in order to achieve something, or support each other.
They could fight shoulder-to-shoulder against a common enemy...
13
a chip on one's shoulder: see chip
to rub shoulders with: see rubcold shoul|der (cold-shoulders cold-shouldering cold-shouldered)
The form cold-shoulder is used for the verb.
1 [N-SING] usu the N
If one person gives another the cold shoulder, they behave towards them in an unfriendly way, to show them that they do not care about them or that they want them to go away.
But when Gough looked to Haig for support, he was given the cold shoulder.
2 [VERB] V n
If one person cold-shoulders another, they give them the cold-shoulder.
Even her own party considered her shrewish and nagging, and cold-shouldered her in the corridors.hard shoul|der (hard shoulders)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The hard shoulder is the area at the side of a motorway or other road where you are allowed to stop if your car breaks down. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use shoulder)shoul|der blade (shoulder blades)
[N-COUNT]
Your shoulder blades are the two large, flat, triangular bones that you have in the upper part of your back, below your shoulders.shoul|der pad (shoulder pads)
[N-COUNT]
Shoulder pads are small pads that are put inside the shoulders of a jacket, coat, or other article of clothing in order to raise them.shoul|der strap (shoulder straps)
1 [N-COUNT]
The shoulder straps on a piece of clothing such as a dress are two narrow straps that go over the shoulders.
2 [N-COUNT]
A shoulder strap on a bag is a long strap that you put over your shoulder to carry the bag.soft shoul|der (soft shoulders)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
On a busy road such as a freeway, the soft shoulder is the area at the side of the road where vehicles are allowed to stop in an emergency. (AM; in BRIT, use hard shoulder)
1 [N-COUNT] oft poss N
Your shoulders are between your neck and the tops of your arms.
She led him to an armchair, with her arm round his shoulder...
He glanced over his shoulder and saw me watching him.
2 [N-COUNT]
The shoulders of a piece of clothing are the parts that cover your shoulders.
...extravagant fashions with padded shoulders.
3 [N-PLURAL] poss N
When you talk about someone's problems or responsibilities, you can say that they carry them on their shoulders.
No one suspected the anguish he carried on his shoulders...
4 [VERB] V n
If you shoulder the responsibility or the blame for something, you accept it.
He has had to shoulder the responsibility of his father's mistakes...
= accept
5 [VERB] V n
If you shoulder something heavy, you put it across one of your shoulders so that you can carry it more easily.
The rest of the group shouldered their bags, gritted their teeth and set off...
6 [VERB] V n with aside, V way prep/adv, V past/through n
If you shoulder someone aside or if you shoulder your way somewhere, you push past people roughly using your shoulder.
The policemen rushed past him, shouldering him aside...
She could do nothing to stop him as he shouldered his way into the house...
He shouldered past Harlech and opened the door.
7 [N-VAR]
A shoulder is a joint of meat from the upper part of the front leg of an animal.
...shoulder of lamb.
8
see also cold-shoulder, hard shoulder
9 [PHRASE] usu PHR after v
If someone offers you a shoulder to cry on or is a shoulder to cry on, they listen sympathetically as you talk about your troubles.
Roland sometimes saw me as a shoulder to cry on.
10 [PHRASE] PHR above n
If you say that someone or something stands head and shoulders above other people or things, you mean that they are a lot better than them.
The two candidates stood head and shoulders above the rest...
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If two or more people stand shoulder to shoulder, they are standing next to each other, with their shoulders touching.
They fell into step, walking shoulder to shoulder with their heads bent against the rain...
12 [PHRASE] usu v PHR
If people work or stand shoulder to shoulder, they work together in order to achieve something, or support each other.
They could fight shoulder-to-shoulder against a common enemy...
13
a chip on one's shoulder: see chip
to rub shoulders with: see rubcold shoul|der (cold-shoulders cold-shouldering cold-shouldered)
The form cold-shoulder is used for the verb.
1 [N-SING] usu the N
If one person gives another the cold shoulder, they behave towards them in an unfriendly way, to show them that they do not care about them or that they want them to go away.
But when Gough looked to Haig for support, he was given the cold shoulder.
2 [VERB] V n
If one person cold-shoulders another, they give them the cold-shoulder.
Even her own party considered her shrewish and nagging, and cold-shouldered her in the corridors.hard shoul|der (hard shoulders)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
The hard shoulder is the area at the side of a motorway or other road where you are allowed to stop if your car breaks down. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use shoulder)shoul|der blade (shoulder blades)
[N-COUNT]
Your shoulder blades are the two large, flat, triangular bones that you have in the upper part of your back, below your shoulders.shoul|der pad (shoulder pads)
[N-COUNT]
Shoulder pads are small pads that are put inside the shoulders of a jacket, coat, or other article of clothing in order to raise them.shoul|der strap (shoulder straps)
1 [N-COUNT]
The shoulder straps on a piece of clothing such as a dress are two narrow straps that go over the shoulders.
2 [N-COUNT]
A shoulder strap on a bag is a long strap that you put over your shoulder to carry the bag.soft shoul|der (soft shoulders)
[N-COUNT] usu the N in sing
On a busy road such as a freeway, the soft shoulder is the area at the side of the road where vehicles are allowed to stop in an emergency. (AM; in BRIT, use hard shoulder)