shoulder
shoul·der/ˈʃoʊldɚ/noun, verb
shoulder is spelled S-H-O-U-L-D-E-R, 2 syllables: shoul·der. The wrong spelling people search most is sholder: about 230 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 28 of all searches for the word. Shoulder is a noun meaning “The part of the human torso forming a relatively horizontal surface running away from the neck”. The plural of shoulder is shoulders.
How many letters and syllables are in shoulder?
| Letters | 8: S-H-O-U-L-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: shoul·der |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,992nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, sholder, about 230 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell shoulder?
Shoulder is spelled S-H-O-U-L-D-E-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 28 of the searches for shoulder in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is shoulder?
Shoulder appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shoulder?
- UK /ˈʃəʊldə/
- US /ˈʃoʊldɚ/
Shoulder has 2 syllables, split shoul·der in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shoulder.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shoulder?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shoulder from its last stressed vowel (/oʊldəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of shoulder
- shoulders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shouldering participle, present
- shouldered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shoulder mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The part of the human torso forming a relatively horizontal surface running away from the neck.
The parrot was sitting on Steve's shoulder.
- 2
The joint between the arm and the torso, sometimes including the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
- 3
A cut of meat comprising the upper joint of the foreleg and the surrounding muscle.
- 4
The portion of a garment where the shoulder is clothed.
- 5
Anything forming a shape resembling a human shoulder.
- 6
A usually unsealed strip of land bordering a road, where vehicles can drive or park in an emergency.
He stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway to change the flat tire.
- 7
The portion of a hill or mountain just below the peak.
- 8
A lateral protrusion of a hill or mountain.
verb
- 1
To push (a person or thing) using one's shoulder.
- 2
To bully, manipulate or pull rank on (somebody).
He shouldered me out of my own band.
- 3
To put (something) on one's shoulders.
- 4
To place (something) against one's shoulders.
- 5
To bear a burden, as a financial obligation.
- 6
To accept responsibility for.
shoulder the blame
- 7
To form a shape resembling a shoulder.
- 8
To move by or as if by using one's shoulders.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shoulder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | épaule , épaulement , epaule |
| Spanish | paleta, paletilla , hombro |
| German | Schulter , schultern |
| Portuguese | ombro , carregar nas costas , pá , dar uma ombrada , arcar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shoulder come from?
From Middle English schuldre, sholder, shulder, schulder, from Old English sċuldra, sċuldor (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuldru (“shoulder”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), see shield. Cognate with Old Frisian skuldere (“shoulder”) (West Frisian skouder (“shoulder”)), Middle Low German scholder (“shoulder”), Low German Schuller, Schulder (“shoulder”), Dutch schouder (“shoulder”), German Schulter (“shoulder”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).