# shore

Pronunciation: US say "SHOR" /ʃɔɹ/; UK say "SHAW" /ʃɔː(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. The strip of land that meets a sea, lake, pond, or other body of still water.
   - Simple: The land along the edge of a sea, lake, or pond.
   - _The boat drifted toward the rocky shore as the tide came in._
   - _Thousands of birds nest along the northern shores of the lake._
2. The land near a harbor or port, especially as viewed from a ship.
   - Simple: Dry land, as seen by people on a ship or boat.
   - _The crew spent two days on shore before the next voyage._
   - _Cranes lifted containers from the ship to the shore._
4. A prop or supporting beam placed to hold up a structure or the weight above it.
   - Simple: A strong post or beam used to hold something up.
   - _Timber shores supported the excavation walls as the crew dug deeper._
   - _A single steel shore bore the weight of the floor above._
7. A sewer or covered drainage channel for waste water.
   - Simple: An underground drain or sewer that carries away dirty water.
   - _Heavy rain flooded the old shore beneath the village lane._
   - _Workers in Glasgow cleared the choked shore after the storm._

## Verb

3. To reinforce or strengthen something that is at risk of collapsing or failing.
   - Simple: To support or strengthen something that might fail or fall.
   - _Engineers worked through the night to shore up the damaged bridge._
   - _The new evidence helped shore up her argument in court._
5. To provide something with support, as with a prop or beam.
   - Simple: To hold something up with a post or beam.
   - _Carpenters shored the roof while they replaced the rotten support._
   - _The crew must shore the trench walls before anyone climbs in._
6. Past tense of shear. Archaic; the usual past tense is sheared. — simple past of shear
   - Simple: Past tense of shear. This is an old form. Today people say sheared.

## Verb

8. To put someone or something ashore from a vessel. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To set someone or something down on land from a boat.
9. To come to or arrive at the shore. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To reach the land at the edge of the water.
   - _At dawn the weary fishermen shored, glad to feel solid ground again._
   - _Boats that shore after dark must signal with a lantern._
10. To threaten someone with unpleasant consequences, or to warn off or frighten away. *(archaic, Scotland)*
   - Simple: To threaten someone with harm, or to scare them away.
   - _The watchman shored the trespassers, swearing to set the dogs upon them._
   - _Villagers would shore poachers with threats of the magistrate._
11. Of clouds or the sky, to threaten rain. *(archaic, Scotland)*
   - Simple: Of the sky or clouds, to look as if it will soon rain.
   - _The gray morning sky shored rain, so the farmers hurried their harvest._
   - _Whenever those eastern clouds shore a downpour, the sailors stay in port._
12. To offer or present something to someone. *(archaic, Scotland)*
   - Simple: To offer or hand something to another person.
   - _The merchant shored fine silks to the visiting lord._
   - _Custom required that they shore the elders the first share of the meal._

## Adverb

13. Pronunciation spelling of sure. *(archaic, Scotland)* — Pronunciation spelling of sure.
   - Simple: Pronunciation spelling of sure. It writes the word the way some people say it.
   - _Shore as the sun rises, he'll be late again._
   - _I'm shore that's the right road home._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 8–9** — From Middle English schore, from Old English *sċora, from Proto-Germanic *skurô meaning 'rugged rock, cliff, high rocky shore'. It is possibly related to Old English sċieran ('to cut'), which survives today as 'shear', and has cognates in Middle Dutch scorre and Middle Low German schor.
**Meaning 4** — From Late Middle English shore ('a prop, a support'), from Middle Dutch schore ('a prop, a stay') and Middle Low German schōre ('a prop, a stay; barrier'); the further etymology is unknown.
**Meanings 3, 5** — From Late Middle English shoren ('to prop, to support'), from Middle English shore ('a prop, a support', see etymology 2) plus the verb-forming suffix -en; compare Middle Dutch schooren ('to prop up, support').
**Meanings 10–12** — Uncertain origin. The word is attested in Northern English and Scots, with schore ('to threaten') recorded before 1400; it may ultimately be related to Old Scots schoir ('steep, of a crag'), linked to 'shear', or alternatively a variant of 'score' or 'sure'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shore (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).