shah

noun

ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
variants often Shah
Synonyms of shahnext
: a sovereign of Iran
shahdom
ˈshä-dəm How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ-
noun

Examples of shah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
It was created for Egypt’s royal family and worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 at the wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, then crown prince of Iran and later the country’s last shah. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026 Ayatollah Khomeini portrayed the shah as the tyrannical Yazid and himself as a Husayn-like figure returning from exile to save the Iranian people from injustice. — Iqbal Akhtar, The Conversation, 31 July 2026 Many of them urged the shah to toughen up and crack down harder on protesters. — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026 The book is described in promotional materials as providing vivid portraits of the lives of her mother, Farah Arvand, and her grandmother, princess Ashraf Palavi, sister of the last shah of Iran. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 17 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for shah

Word History

Etymology

Persian shāh king — more at check

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shah was in 1566

Rhymes for shah

See All Rhymes for shah

Browse Nearby Words

shagreen
shah
Shahaptian
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shah. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

shah

noun
ˈshä How to pronounce shah (audio)
ˈshȯ
: a ruler of Iran until the 1979 revolution

More from Merriam-Webster on shah

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for shah

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shah

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