# shouldering

Pronunciation: say "SHOHL-der-ing" US /ˈʃoʊldəɹɪŋ/, UK /ˈʃəʊldəɹɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle of shoulder. — present participle and gerund of shoulder
   - Simple: Present participle of shoulder. Use this form for an action happening right now.
   - _She is shouldering most of the blame for the failed project._
   - _The eldest son is shouldering the family's debts alone._

## Noun

2. The act of pushing or barging into someone or something with the shoulder.
   - Simple: A hard push or bump given with the shoulder.
   - _The referee penalized the shouldering as a foul in the second half._
   - _A sharp shouldering sent his opponent stumbling sideways into the rail._
3. In building, the use of corbels, brackets, or other members that jut from a wall to carry a load.
   - Simple: The way a load is held up by a part that sticks out from a wall, like a small ledge or support.
   - _The masons designed careful shouldering to carry the weight of the arch above._
   - _The bridge's shouldering transfers the deck load onto the stone piers._
4. In roofing, the treatment of slates in which each tile's top edge is rounded and raised.
   - Simple: The shaping of slate tiles by rounding and lifting their top edges.
   - _The shouldering on the reclaimed slates was worn smooth with age._
   - _Traditional slating calls for precise shouldering along each tile's top edge._
5. A flanged portion of an object, similar to a lip but located on the side rather than the rim.
   - Simple: A raised part on the side of an object, like a lip but found on the side instead of the rim.
   - _The machinist filed a clean shouldering along the edge of the part._
   - _The vase had a pronounced shouldering where its wall curved outward._

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