shore¹ / shôr/ • n. the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or other large body of water: I took the tiller and made for the shore. ∎  Law the land between ordinary high- and low-water marks. ∎  (usu. shores) a country or other geographic area bounded by a coast: the ripples of Soviet “new thinking” had reached the distant shores of Africa.PHRASES: on shore ashore; on land: are any of the crew left on shore?DERIVATIVES: shore·less adj.shore·ward / -wərd/ adj. & adv.shore·wards / -wərdz/ adv.shore² • n. a prop or beam set obliquely against something weak or unstable as a support.• v. [tr.] support or hold up (something) with such props or beams: rescue workers had to shore up the building, which was in danger of collapse | fig. tax relief to help shore up the ailing airline industry. shore³ • archaic past of shear.

shore. Piece of timber or metal (in reality a strut) set obliquely against the side of a building as a support when it is in danger of falling, or when undergoing alterations or repairs. Shoring is therefore a collection of shores, i.e. some sort of structural framework supporting an unstable wall or building or the sides of an excavated area. Although usually applied to a temporary arrangement, shoring can be in evidence for many years (e.g. blighted sites in the City of London after the 1939–45 war, where shoring was still in existence well into the 1970s).

shore1 land bordering on a piece of water. XIV. — MLG., MDu. schōre, perh. f. the base of SHEAR.

shore2 oblique support for the side of a building. XV. — MLG., MDu. schōre (Du. schoor) prop, stay.
So vb. prop up. XIV. — (M)LG., (M)Du. schōren.