share¹

[shair] /ʃɛər/

noun

the full or proper portion or part allotted or belonging to or contributed or owed by an individual or group.

one of the equal fractional parts into which the capital stock of a joint-stock company or a corporation is divided.

Digital Technology.

a digital file or document that can be accessed by specific users on a computer network, as for viewing, downloading, or making changes to it:
I just sent you a share—can you improve the second paragraph?
an act of sharing online content with specific users on a computer network:
You can do a video share with friends and family.

verb (used with object), shared, sharing.

to divide and distribute in shares; apportion.

to use, participate in, enjoy, receive, etc., jointly:

The two chemists shared the Nobel prize.

Digital Technology. to give specific users access to (online content), as by posting it on a social-networking website or sending it as an email attachment:

to share photos on Instagram; a shared spreadsheet.

verb (used without object), shared, sharing.

to have a share or part; take part (often followed by in).

to divide, apportion, or receive equally.

Digital Technology. to give specific users access to online content:

You can share via email, Facebook, or Twitter.

adjective

10.

Digital Technology. pertaining to or noting the practice of sharing online content with specific users on a computer network:

Add a share button to your site.

Idioms

11.

on / upon shares, on the principle of sharing the profits or losses of an undertaking:

They agreed to work on shares.

Origin

1325-75; Middle English (noun) cutting, division; Old English scearu fork of the body, groin; cognate with Dutch schaar, German Schar troop. See shear

Related forms

sharable, shareable, adjective

sharer, noun

half-shared, adjective

nonsharing, adjective, noun

unsharable, adjective

unshareable, adjective

unshared, adjective

unsharing, adjective

Synonyms

1. allotment, allocation; contribution, assessment; quota, lot. 3. allot, parcel out, deal out, dole, mete. 5. Share, partake, participate mean to join with others or to receive in common with others. To share is to give or receive a part of something, or to enjoy or assume something in common: to share in another's experiences. To partake is to take for one's own personal use a portion of something: to partake of food. To participate is especially to join with others in some thought, feeling, or, particularly, some action: to participate in a race, in a conversation.

share²

[shair] /ʃɛər/

noun

a plowshare.

Origin

before 900; Middle English; Old English scear; cognate with German Schar. See shear

Examples from the web for share

Humans and aliens could share a common genetic foundation.
We share many common views, including the important acknowledgment that there is not a single problem of consciousness.
Look around the house for things that share a common element.
The mountain lion and the cheetah share an ancestor.
Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
share a favorite memory or anecdote about your kind of town and read what others have to say about their favorite places.
New varieties appear each year, while older ones lose market share.
Since the two photons are traveling in the same reference frame, all of their events share simultaneity.
These little butterflies are plentiful and tiny-some are no larger than my thumb-and share similar markings across species.
The countries with the biggest share of academic citations.

British Dictionary definitions for share

share¹

/ʃɛə/

noun

a part or portion of something owned, allotted to, or contributed by a person or group

(often pl) any of the equal parts, usually of low par value, into which the capital stock of a company is divided: ownership of shares carries the right to receive a proportion of the company's profits See also ordinary shares, preference shares

(informal) go shares, to share (something) with another or others

verb

(transitive) often foll by out. to divide or apportion, esp equally

when intr, often foll by in. to receive or contribute a portion of: we can share the cost of the petrol, six people shared in the inheritance

to join with another or others in the use of (something): can I share your umbrella?

Derived Forms

sharable, shareable, adjective
sharer, noun

Word Origin

Old English scearu; related to Old Norse skor amount, Old High German scara crowd; see shear

share²

/ʃɛə/

noun

short for ploughshare

Word Origin

Old English scear; related to Old Norse skeri, Old High German scaro

Word Origin and History for share

"portion," Old English scearu "a cutting, shearing, tonsure; a part or division," related to sceran "to cut," from Proto-Germanic *skaro- (cf. Old High German scara "troop, share of forced labor," German Schar "troop, band," properly "a part of an army," Old Norse skör "rim"), from PIE root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear).

Meaning "part of the capital of a joint stock company" is first attested c.1600. Share and share alike attested from 1560s. The same Old English noun in the sense "division" led to an obsolete noun share "fork ('division') of the body at the groin; pubic region" (late Old English and Middle English); hence share-bone "pubis" (early 15c.).

"iron blade of a plow," Old English scear, scær "plowshare," properly "that which cuts," from Proto-Germanic *skar- (cf. Old Frisian skere, Middle Low German schar, Old High German scar, German Schar, Dutch ploegschaar, Middle High German pfluocschar), from PIE root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear).

1580s, "to apportion to someone as his share; to apportion out to others; to enjoy or suffer (something) with others," from share (n.1). Meaning "to divide one's own and give part to others" is recorded from 1590s. Meaning "confess one's sins openly" (1932, implied in sharing) is from "the language of Moral Rearmament" [OED]. Related: Shared; sharer; sharing.

Idioms and Phrases with share

In addition to the idiom beginning with share also see: lion's share