Definition

1. Noun:

   • The land along the edge of a body of water: The "shore" is the land bordering an ocean, sea, lake, or large river.
   • A beam or timber used for support: A "shore" is a prop or beam placed against a structure to hold it up or prevent it from collapsing.

2. Verb:

   • To support or prop up: To "shore" something means to support it, often with a beam or timber, to make it stable or prevent it from falling.
   • To arrive or bring to the land at the edge of water: To "shore" can mean to come to or bring something to the shore from the water.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Land edge):
  • We walked along the sandy shore of the lake.
  • The shipwrecked sailors were relieved to see the shore.
• Noun (Support beam):
  • The workers used wooden shores to support the old wall during the renovation.
• Verb (To support):
  • They had to shore up the foundation of the house to prevent further damage.
• Verb (To arrive at shore):
  • The damaged boat finally shored near a small fishing village.

Advanced Usage

• "To shore up": This phrasal verb is the most common usage of the verb form. It means to support, strengthen, or reinforce something, often a structure, an argument, or an institution.
  • The government took measures to shore up the failing economy.
  • We need to shore up our defenses before the storm hits.

Variants and Related Words

• Shoring (n): The action or system of supporting a structure with props.
  • Temporary shoring was installed for safety.
• Shoreline (n): The line where a body of water meets the land. (This is a compound word, not a direct variant of the verb/noun "shore").
• Foreshore (n): The part of a shore between high and low water marks. (This is a compound word).

Synonyms

• Noun (Land edge): Coast, beach, waterfront, bank (of a river), strand.
• Noun (Support): Prop, brace, buttress, strut, support.
• Verb (To support): Prop up, brace, buttress, reinforce, underpin.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Shore up: To support or strengthen.
  • The new evidence helped to shore up her theory.

Related Idioms

• "On shore": On land, as opposed to on a ship or in the water.
  • The sailors were happy to be on shore after a long voyage.
• "To shore something against one's ruins": A literary phrase meaning to find support or solace in something during difficult times. (This is an allusion to T.S. Eliot's poem "The Waste Land").
  • In his grief, he shored these fragments against his ruins.

Noun

1. a beam or timber that is propped against a structure to provide support
2. the land along the edge of a body of water

Verb

1. support by placing against something solid or rigid
   • shore and buttress an old building
2. arrive on shore
   • The ship landed in Pearl Harbor
3. serve as a shore to
   • The river was shored by trees