shore

UK: /ˈʃɔː^r/ US: /ʃɔr/ ,(shôr, shōr)

Inflections of 'shore' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

shores

v 3rd person singular

shoring

v pres p

shored

v past

shored

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shore¹ /ʃɔr/   n. 

1. the land along the edge of a sea, lake, etc.:
   [countable] a walk down by the shore.
   [uncountable] The marine was now serving on shore.
2. some particular country:
   [countable] my native shore.

shore² /ʃɔr/   v., shored, shor•ing. 

1. Building, Civil Engineering to support or strengthen: [~ + object]
   shored the walls with timbers.
   [~ + up + object]
   The workers shored up the side of the wall with timbers.
   [~ + object + up]
   to shore the walls up.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shore¹  (shôr, shōr), n. 

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

adj. 

5. of, pertaining to, or located on land, esp. land along the edge of a body of water:
   a marine on shore duty.

• 1300–50; Middle English schore, Old English scora; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schore; perh. akin to shear

Synonyms

• 1. strand, margin.
  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, esp. those made wider at ebb tide:
  a private beach for bathers.
  Coast applies only to land along an ocean:
  the Pacific coast.

shore²  (shôr, shōr), n., v., shored, shor•ing. 
n. 

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

v.t. 
2. Building, Civil Engineering to support by or as if by a shore or shores;
   prop (usually fol. by up):
   to shore up a roof; government subsidies to shore up falling corn prices.
• 1300–50; (noun, nominal) Middle English; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schore prop; (verb, verbal) shoren, derivative of the noun, nominal
Synonyms
• 1. brace, buttress, stay.

shore³  (shôr, shōr), v.t., shored, shor•ing. [Scot. and North Eng.]

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

• ?
• Middle English (Scots) schore 1325–75

Shore  (shôr, shōr), n. 

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

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shore / ʃɔː/ noun

1. the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river
   Related adjective(s): littoral
2. land, as opposed to water (esp in the phrase on shore)
3. (as modifier): shore duty
4. the tract of coastland lying between the ordinary marks of high and low water
5. (often plural) a country: his native shores

Etymology: 14th Century: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōre; compare Old High German scorra cliff; see shear

shore / ʃɔː/ noun

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

verb

1. (transitive) often followed by up: to prop or make safe with or as if with a shore

Etymology: 15th Century: from Middle Dutch schōre; related to Old Norse skortha prop

ˈshoring noun

shore / ʃɔː/ verb

1. 
   a past tense of shear