shoulder

shoul|der¹ W2S2 [ˈʃəuldə US ˈʃouldər] n

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1¦(body part)¦

2¦(clothes)¦

3¦(meat)¦

4 be looking over your shoulder

5

6 shoulder to shoulder

7 on somebody's shoulders

8 put your shoulder to the wheel

9¦(road-side)¦

10¦(curved shape)¦

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[: Old English; Origin: sculdor]

1.) ¦(BODY PART)¦

one of the two parts of the body at each side of the neck where the arm is connected

▪ She tapped the driver on the shoulder.

▪ a muscular man with broad shoulders

▪ He put his arm around her shoulders.

▪ When we asked Keith who she was, he just shrugged his shoulders (=raised his shoulders to show that he did not know or care) .

look/glance over your shoulder

(=look behind you)

▪ Lucy glanced nervously over her shoulder to see who was behind her.

2.) ¦(CLOTHES)¦

the part of a piece of clothing that covers your shoulders

▪ a jacket with padded shoulders

3.) ¦(MEAT)¦ [U and C]

the upper part of the front leg of an animal that is used for meat

shoulder of

▪ a shoulder of pork

4.) be looking over your shoulder

to feel worried that something unpleasant is going to happen to you

5.) a) a shoulder to cry on

someone who gives you sympathy

▪ Ben is always there when I need a shoulder to cry on.

b) cry on sb's shoulder

to get sympathy from someone when you tell them your problems

6.) shoulder to shoulder

a) having the same aims and wanting to achieve the same thing

= ↑side by side shoulder to shoulder with

▪ We are working shoulder to shoulder with local residents.

b) physically close together

= ↑side by side

▪ Blacks and whites stood shoulder to shoulder in the stands to applaud.

7.) on sb's shoulders

if blame or a difficult job falls on someone's shoulders, they have to take responsibility for it

▪ The blame rests squarely on Jim's shoulders.

8.) put your shoulder to the wheel

to start to work with great effort and determination

9.) ¦(ROAD-SIDE)¦ AmE

an area of ground beside a road where drivers can stop their cars if they are having trouble

→↑hard shoulder, ↑soft shoulder

10.)¦(CURVED SHAPE)¦

a rounded part just below the top of something

→give sb the cold shoulder at ↑cold¹ (7), have a chip on your shoulder at ↑chip¹ (5), be/stand head and shoulders above the rest at ↑head¹ (29), rub shoulders with at ↑rub¹ (5), straight from the shoulder at ↑straight¹ (10)

shoulder ²

shoulder² v

1.) shoulder the responsibility/blame/cost/burden etc

to accept a difficult or unpleasant responsibility, duty etc

▪ The residents are being asked to shoulder the costs of the repairs.

2.) [T]

to lift something onto your shoulder to carry it

▪ They shouldered the boat and took it down to the river.

3.) shoulder your way through/into etc

to move through a large crowd of people by pushing with your shoulder

▪ He ran after her, shouldering his way through the crowd.

4.) shoulder arms

an order given to soldiers telling them to hold their weapon against their shoulder