withers

with·ers
W4I1T1H4E1R1S1
US/ˈwɪð.ɚz/UK/ˈwɪð.əz/

noun

The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height.

Less commonFirst used 1580Scrabble 13
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Meanings

withers1

nounwithers pl (normally plural, singular wither)

singular wither

  1. pluralplural normallyThe part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height.First known use 1580

withers2

verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of wither

Withers3

proper noun
  1. A surname.

    On the normier part of the spectrum are liberal influencers like Dean Withers and Harry Sisson, who have transferred the “debate me, bro” spirit of early YouTube to TikTok Live.

    2025 March 17, Andrew Marantz, “The Battle for the Bros”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
napescruff

Origin

withers · noun

From dialectal English wither (“against”) (compare wither-) + -s; see with. So-named because it is the part of the horse that pushes against a load. Compare German Widerrist (“withers”), from wider (“against”) + Rist (“wrist”).

Full word history & related roots →

withers · verb

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan creu, creuera
  • creupart of the back of an animal
  • creuerapart of the back of an animal
Czech kohoutek
  • kohoutekpart of the back of an animal
Dutch schoft
  • schoftpart of the back of an animal
Finnish säkä
  • säkäpart of the back of an animal
French garrot
  • garrotpart of the back of an animal
German Widerrist
  • Widerristpart of the back of an animal
Greek ακρωμία
  • ακρωμία (akromía)part of the back of an animal
Hungarian mar
  • marpart of the back of an animal
Italian garrese
  • garresepart of the back of an animal
Malay kelasa
  • kelasapart of the back of an animal
Polish kłąb
  • kłąbpart of the back of an animal
Portuguese cernelha
  • cernelhapart of the back of an animal
Russian хо́лка
  • хо́лка (xólka)part of the back of an animal
Spanish cruz
  • cruzpart of the back of an animal
Swedish manke
  • mankepart of the back of an animal
Turkish omuz
  • omuzpart of the back of an animal
Ukrainian хо́лка
  • хо́лка (xólka)part of the back of an animal
Welsh cudyn ysgwydd
  • cudyn ysgwyddpart of the back of an animal

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

whisterswither
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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