Meaning

(countable) A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.
2. (countable, figurative) Someone who watches over, looks after, or guides somebody.
3. (Christianity, countable, figurative) The pastor of a church; one who guides others in religion.
4. (countable, poetic) A swain; a rustic male lover.
5. (countable) A German Shepherd.
6. (transitive) To watch over; to guide.
7. (transitive, Australian rules football) To obstruct an opponent from getting to the ball, either when a teammate has it or is going for it, or if the ball is about to bounce through the goal or out of bounds.

Example Sentences

It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The dirt floor, low ceiling and unfinished stone walls were barely illuminated by candles and a dim string of green decorative lights. A nervous shepherd mix barked at me as a woman tried to calm it. When my eyes adjusted, I saw people in corners.

For me has Pain, the sentinel, / Been vigilant / To pace my plot and dwell / Within my tent; / Oft in the night with small alarms / Has stirred me out of rest, / Alert, oppressed, / Till shepherded within thine arms / And on thy breast, / O loving Lady, in the curse of Pain / I have been blest— / […]

Each entry in this volume was assigned to a different preeminent scholar who was responsible for shepherding that specific entry, and that specific entry alone, into being.

Word Forms

• shepherds
• shepherding
• shepherded

Synonyms for shepherd

Related Words

When Should You Use Shepherd?

Use shepherd when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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