shofar

S1H4O1F4A1R1
UK/ˈʃəʊ̯fə/US/ˈʃoʊ̯fɚ/US/ˈʃoʊ̯fɑɹ/US/ʃoʊ̯ˈfɑɹ/

noun

A ram’s-horn trumpet, used for Jewish ritual purposes.

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Meanings

nounshofar (plural shofars or shofroth or shofarot or shofaroth)

plural shofars · plural shofroth · plural shofarot · plural shofaroth · alternative shophar

  1. JudaismcountableA ram’s-horn trumpet, used for Jewish ritual purposes.

    Thaddeus the fluteplayer had, it seems, found a ram’s horn or shofar, and he was blowing this not in the normal manner of an angry summons but so as to produce a melody of four notes, like a camp call to dinner or parade.

    1985, Anthony Burgess, The Kingdom of the Wicked
    1 more example

    “This is one of those times in the history of our country and the world, where we are being presented with a wake up call — the blast of the shofar — to challenge ourselves, to ask, ‘What are we doing? What can we do?’ And know that we can do so much,” said Harris.

    2023 September 13, Gabby Deutch, quoting Kamala Harris, “VP Harris: ‘Blast of the shofar’ presents a ‘wake up call’”, in Jewish Insider

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan ancient musical horn made from the horn of a ram; used in ancient times by the Israelites to sound a warning or a summons; used in synagogues today on solemn occasions

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Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Hebrewשׁוֹפָר“shofar”
  2. Englishshofar

From the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofár, “shofar”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شَبُّور
  • شَبُّور (šabbūr)ram’s-horn trumpet
Catalan xofar
  • xofarram’s-horn trumpet
Danish shofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
Dutch sjofar
  • sjofarram’s-horn trumpet
French chophar, chofar
  • chopharram’s-horn trumpet
  • chofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • schofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • shopharram’s-horn trumpet
German Schofar, Schofarhorn
  • Schofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • Schofarhornram’s-horn trumpet
  • Halljahrposauneram’s-horn trumpet
  • Hallposauneram’s-horn trumpet
Hebrew שׁוֹפָר
  • שׁוֹפָר (shofár)ram’s-horn trumpet
Hindi शोफ़ार
  • शोफ़ार (śofār)ram’s-horn trumpet
Hungarian sófár
  • sófárram’s-horn trumpet
Italian shofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
Malay shofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
Norwegian Bokmål sjofar
  • sjofarram’s-horn trumpet
Persian شوفار
  • شوفار (šowfâr)ram’s-horn trumpet
Polish szofar, szałfer
  • szofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • szałferram’s-horn trumpet
Portuguese shofar, chofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
  • chofarram’s-horn trumpet
Russian шофа́р
  • шофа́р (šofár)ram’s-horn trumpet
Spanish shofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
Swedish shofar
  • shofarram’s-horn trumpet
Turkish şofar
  • şofarram’s-horn trumpet
Yiddish שופֿר
  • שופֿר (shoyfer)ram’s-horn trumpet

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

chauffeur (some pronunciations of both words)
Cite this entry
APA

shofar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shofar

MLA

“shofar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shofar. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shofar,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shofar.

Source: shofar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.