Meaning & use
shoulder width apart
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
With a space between two things equal to the width of your shoulders.
Grammar: Comes after the thing being positioned: 'feet shoulder width apart'. Often with 'stand' or 'place'.
Patterns
- stand with your feet shoulder width apart
- place something shoulder width apart
- hold something shoulder width apart
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and relax your arms.
Set the two cones shoulder width apart before you start running.
She held the rope shoulder width apart and pulled.
Common combinations
- feet shoulder width apart
- Keep your feet shoulder width apart during the squat.
- stand shoulder width apart
- The coach told us to stand shoulder width apart.
- hands shoulder width apart
- Grip the bar with your hands shoulder width apart.
- legs shoulder width apart
- Land with your legs shoulder width apart.
Synonyms and how they differ
- a shoulder width apart
- The same phrase with the article 'a'; both are common, though the version without 'a' is more usual in instructions.
Word family
- shoulder width noun
- The distance across the shoulders used as a unit.
- apart adverb
- Separated by a distance or space.
Commonly confused: shoulder width apart or shoulder-width?
shoulder width apart vs shoulder-width
The hyphenated adjective describes something as wide as the shoulders (a shoulder-width gap); 'shoulder width apart' describes the space between two things.
Practice
Choose the most natural instruction.
Choose one answer.
The fixed order is 'feet shoulder width apart'. The other options move the words into orders that English speakers do not use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shoulder width apart”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.