How to pronounce shore
Say it like SHOR. Shore is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce shore. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SHOR
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Shore pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SHORSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "aw" in law.
American vs British pronunciation of shore
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: SHAW.
What does shore mean?
- the land along the edge of a body of water
- a beam or timber that is propped against a structure to provide support
- serve as a shore to“The river was shored by trees”
- arrive on shore“The ship landed in Pearl Harbor”
- support by placing against something solid or rigid“shore and buttress an old building”
Where does shore come from?
Cognate with Middle Dutch scorre (“land washed by the sea”), Middle Low German schor (“shore, coast, headland”), Middle High German schorre ("rocky crag, high rocky shore"; > German Schorre, Schorren (“towering rock, crag”)), and Limburgish sjaor (“riverbank”).
Words that rhyme with shore
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of shore.
Questions about saying shore
How do you pronounce shore?
Say SHOR. The American pronunciation is /ʃɔr/. In British English it is /ʃɔː/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in shore?
Shore is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SHOR.
Is shore pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /ʃɔː/ (SHAW).