shore

¹

[ shawr, shohr ]

noun

1. the land along the edge of a sea, lake, broad river, etc.

   Synonyms: margin, strand

2. some particular country:

   my native shore.

3. land, as opposed to sea or water:

   a marine serving on shore.

4. Law. the space between the ordinary high-water and low-water mark.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or located on land, especially land along the edge of a body of water:

   a marine on shore duty.

shore

²

[ shawr, shohr ]

noun

1. a supporting post or beam with auxiliary members, especially one placed obliquely against the side of a building, a ship in drydock, or the like; prop; strut.

   Synonyms: stay, buttress, brace

verb (used with object)

, shored, shor·ing.

1. to support by or as if by a shore or shores; prop (usually followed by up ):

   to shore up a roof; government subsidies to shore up falling corn prices.

shore

³

[ shawr, shohr ]

verb (used with object)

, Scot. and North England.

, shored, shor·ing.

1. to threaten (someone).
2. to offer or proffer (something).

Shore

⁴

[ shawr, shohr ]

noun

1. Jane, 1445?–1527, mistress of Edward IV of England.

shore

¹

/ ʃɔː /

verb

1. See shear
   a past tense of shear

shore

²

/ ʃɔː /

noun

1. the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river littoral
2. 1. land, as opposed to water (esp in the phrase on shore )
   2. ( as modifier )

      shore duty

3. law the tract of coastland lying between the ordinary marks of high and low water
4. often plural a country

   his native shores

verb

1. tr to move or drag (a boat) onto a shore

shore

³

/ ʃɔː /

noun

1. a prop, post, or beam used to support a wall, building, ship in dry dock, etc

verb

1. troften foll byup to prop or make safe with or as if with a shore

Derived Forms

• ˈshoring, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shore¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English score, Old English scora (recorded only in place names); cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schore; perhaps akin to shear

Origin of shore²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun shore, score; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schore “prop”; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of shore³

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English ( Scots ) schore, of uncertain origin and meaning

Word History and Origins

Origin of shore¹

C14: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōre; compare Old High German scorra cliff; see shear

Origin of shore²

C15: from Middle Dutch schōre; related to Old Norse skortha prop

Synonym Study

Shore, bank, beach, coast refer to an edge of land abutting on an ocean, lake, or other large body of water. Shore is the general word: The ship reached shore. Bank denotes the land along a river or other watercourse, sometimes steep but often not: The river flows between its banks. Beach refers to sandy or pebbly margins along a shore, especially those made wider at ebb tide: a private beach for bathers. Coast applies only to land along an ocean: the Pacific coast.

Example Sentences

Right now, as Hurricane Laura drives to the coastline at 15 miles per hour, it’s pushing the Gulf water towards the shore.

From Fortune

Backed by a well-off friend, Muhammad Danish, Ash set out to prove himself on foreign shores.

From Ozy

The others were from makers of furniture, pants, and shirts, and dozens of other businesses with industrial facilities they wanted to put to use to help shore up the supply of whatever was needed.

From MIT Technology Review

In 2013, Walmart rolled out a “Made in the USA” campaign, vowing to shore up domestic manufacturing by spending $50 billion over 10 years on US-made goods.

From MIT Technology Review

From where I had been standing, there were in fact two distinct points on the shore that were both the closest such points.

From FiveThirtyEight

Each of us believes what we choose to believe, and facts have become bricks to shore up the fortress of our own biases.

From The Daily Beast

It has taken more than that so far to just relocate the population and shore up the buildings.

From The Daily Beast

German artillery chased the landing craft where they milled off shore.

From The Daily Beast

It announced a withdrawal from the French shore due to invincible enemy resistance.

From The Daily Beast

That assertion, given by Shore in a pre-trial deposition, would have been too prejudicial to present to the jury, the court ruled.

From The Daily Beast

Why he did that, instead of walking around on the shore, Jimmy Rabbit couldn't understand.

From Project Gutenberg

He just got a good holt–a shore enough diamond hitch–on that thirst-parlour dawg, and chawed.

From Project Gutenberg

Whenever he heard of one coming into harbor, he hastened to the shore, and closely watched the disembarking.

From Project Gutenberg

Not far distant is Chouacot,11 which is the other shore or arm embracing French Bay.

From Project Gutenberg

Islands are so numerous that the whole shore is cut up by a confused procession of them, as it were.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bank
• beach
• border
• coast
• riverbank
• sand
• seaboard
• seashore
• waterfront

More About Shore

What is a basic definition of shore?

A shore is land that is located along the edge of a body of water. Shore can also be used more generally to mean any land or a particular country. As a verb, shore means to support something.

If a certain area of land touches or runs alongside a body of water, it is a shore. For example, a fisherman would stand at a river’s shore while fishing in it.

A shore is similar to a coast or a beach. A coast is a shore that specifically meets the ocean. A beach is a part of a shore covered in sand and pebbles.

• Real-life examples: Boats are docked along shores. Many shores have beautiful, sandy beaches. MTV once filmed an infamous reality show on the shore of New Jersey.
• Used in a sentence: Eve liked to watch the deer relax along the shore of the lake. 

Shore is also used generally to mean any land. This sense is often used as a contrast to water, such as when talking about sailing or boating.

• Used in a sentence: When I was in the Coast Guard, I didn’t spend much time on shore.

Shore can also mean a country.

• Used in a sentence: I want to return to my native shore of Wales. 

As a verb, shore means to support or to bolster. In this sense, it is often followed by the word up.

• Real-life examples: A builder might shore up a roof with several posts. You might shore up your essay with quotes from the research you did. A government can shore up the solar energy industry by giving solar panel manufacturers tax breaks.
• Used in a sentence: The president planned to shore up the economy by giving aid to small businesses. 

Related to this sense, shore is used as a noun to mean a beam or post that acts as a support.

• Used in a sentence: We used steel shores to keep the side wall from falling down. 

Where does shore come from?

The first records of the water-related shore come from around 1350. It ultimately comes from the Old English scora, which is recorded only in place names.

The first records of the support-related shore come from around 1250. It ultimately comes from the Middle English score. The verb form comes from the noun.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to shore?

• shoreless (adjective)
• shoring (noun)

What are some synonyms for shore?

• waterside
• waterfront
• coast
• bank
• reinforce
• bolster
• prop

What are some words that share a root or word element with shore?

• shoreline
• shorefront
• shore leave
• shoreside
• lakeshore

What are some words that often get used in discussing shore?

• water
• land
• boats
• sailing
• wall
• roof

How is shore used in real life?

Shore is a common word that means land that is along the water or that means to reinforce something.

Another great day is on the way! Today would be a great day to go to the shore!

— NY NJ PA Weather (@nynjpaweather) April 17, 2009

Now when I’m at the shore I’m D (Down) T (to) F (FEAST) 🤤#JSFamilyVacation

— Mike The Situation ☝🏻 (@ItsTheSituation) May 29, 2020

Raise your hand if you would rather we pay to fix Flint’s drinking water than for a stupid walk. And while we’re at it, if we have 5 Billion dollars worth of concrete, let’s shore up our crumbling bridges, why don’t we?

— Pam Keith, Esq. (@PamKeithFL) December 13, 2018

Try using shore!

True or False?

A shore is land that touches or runs along a body of water, such as the ocean.