sharing

sharing — verb

1. to use a room, piece of equipment, or other resource at the same time as one or

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

to use a room, piece of equipment, or other resource at the same time as one or more other people, each person having equal access to it

Example

Tara and her sister share a bedroom in their parents' house.

share + [location]: sharing a room or space

The two research teams share the laboratory equipment on alternate days.

Common collocations
  • share a room / office / house / apartment / kitchen / bathroom
  • share with
  • share an umbrella
  • share a taxi
Synonyms
  • split

    more about dividing rather than simultaneous use

  • occupy together

    formal; limited to physical spaces

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

share + noun + (with + person)

Usage Note

When the shared item is a physical space or device, the person you share with is introduced by 'with': 'I share an office with Andrew.'

Common Mistakes

She shares to her brother a room.
She shares a room with her brother.
The person you share with must follow 'with', not come before the object.

2. to split something such as food, money, or supplies into portions and give a por

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

to split something such as food, money, or supplies into portions and give a portion to each person in a group

Example

Nadia cut the pizza into six slices and shared them with her teammates.

share + food + with + group

The hikers shared their water bottles when one person ran out.

Common collocations
  • share food / a sandwich / a pizza / sweets / candy
  • share money / the cost / the reward
  • share out
  • share among / between
Synonyms
  • distribute

    more formal and often implies systematic division

  • divide up

    focuses on the splitting action

  • split

    informal; used for money or resources

Antonyms
  • hoard

    to keep everything for yourself

  • keep

    to not give any away

Grammar Patterns

share + noun + (out) + among/between + group

share + noun + with + person

Usage Note

With 'out', the focus is on distribution to a group (share out the food among everyone). Without 'out', the focus is on the act of giving a portion to one or more people.

Common Mistakes

Please share to me your sandwich.
Please share your sandwich with me.
Use 'with' not 'to' to introduce the recipient.

3. to divide a task, duty, or responsibility among two or more people so that each

3.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to divide a task, duty, or responsibility among two or more people so that each person does a part of it

Example

Yasmin and her husband share the cooking and cleaning at home.

share + household tasks

The three colleagues shared the driving on the long trip from Chicago to Denver.

Common collocations
  • share the driving / cooking / cleaning / housework
  • share the workload / responsibility
  • share in
  • share the work
Synonyms
  • divide

    focuses on the splitting, less on cooperative effort

  • split

    informal; common with driving, cost, workload

Grammar Patterns

share + noun (the driving / the cooking)

share + in + noun

Common Mistakes

We shared to do the housework.
We shared the housework.
'Share' is followed by a noun, not a to-infinitive.

4. to have the same opinion, emotion, interest, or life experience as another perso

4.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to have the same opinion, emotion, interest, or life experience as another person or group

Example

Greta and Andrew share a love of classical music and often go to concerts together.

share + [interest]: having the same hobby or taste

Many young people in the city share the dream of starting their own business.

Common collocations
  • share an interest / a love / a passion
  • share a view / a belief / an opinion
  • share an experience
  • share a dream / a goal
  • share in
  • share a life
  • share a history
Synonyms
  • have in common

    more general; used for traits, interests, or experiences

  • hold

    formal; only for beliefs or opinions

Antonyms
  • differ

    to have different opinions or characteristics

Grammar Patterns

share + noun (interest / view / belief)

share + noun + with + person

share + in + noun

Usage Note

This sense is stative — it describes a state of having something in common, not an action. It is rarely used in the continuous form ('is sharing'). Distinguish from sense 1 (physical resources) and sense 5 (talking about thoughts).

Common Mistakes

I am sharing your opinion about the movie.
I share your opinion about the movie.
This sense describes a state, not an action, so it does not take the progressive form.

5. to tell someone your private thoughts, worries, or emotions, usually because you

5.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to tell someone your private thoughts, worries, or emotions, usually because you trust them and want understanding or comfort

Example

Adina shared her fears about the job interview with her older sister.

share + emotions + with + person

After weeks of silence, Christopher finally shared what was troubling him.

share + wh-clause: revealing what is on one's mind

Common collocations
  • share thoughts / feelings / worries / fears / problems / secrets
  • share an experience / a story
  • share with
  • share that...
Synonyms
  • confide

    implies trusting the listener with something private

  • tell

    neutral; less emotional than 'share' in this sense

  • open up about

    informal; to start talking about feelings after being quiet

Antonyms
  • conceal

    to keep feelings or information hidden

  • bottle up

    informal; to suppress emotions

Grammar Patterns

share + noun (thoughts / feelings) + with + person

share + that-clause

Usage Note

Unlike sense 4 (COMMON FEELINGS), this sense describes an action — telling someone something. It can be used in the continuous form ('She is sharing her story with the group').

Common Mistakes

He shared about his problems.
He shared his problems (with his friend).
'Share' is not followed by 'about' directly; use 'share + noun + with.'

6. to post a link, photo, video, or message on a social networking site so that oth

6.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to post a link, photo, video, or message on a social networking site so that other users can see it, or to pass along content that someone else originally posted

Example

Yuna shared a photo of her homemade dumplings on Instagram.

share + [content] + on + [platform]

The article was shared over ten thousand times within the first hour.

passive: be shared [number] times

Common collocations
  • share a photo / a video / a post / a link / an article
  • share on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn
  • share with followers / friends
Synonyms
  • post

    does not necessarily mean the content reaches other networks

  • repost

    specifically means passing along someone else's content

  • forward

    used for email rather than social media

Grammar Patterns

share + noun + on + [social media platform]

Usage Note

In this sense, 'share' implies digital distribution — the content becomes visible to the user's followers, friends, or network. The platform is introduced by 'on' (share on Facebook, share on Twitter).

Common Mistakes

Please share me the link.
Please share the link with me.
Even in the digital sense, the recipient follows 'with'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/4

'Share' and 'have in common' are both used when two or more people possess the same interest, belief, or experience. 'Have in common' is more general and can describe any shared attribute ('They have a love of music in common'). 'Share' is more active and personal, implying a sense of connection or joint possession ('We share the same values'). 'Hold' is more formal and typically limited to beliefs or opinions ('They hold opposing views on taxation'). 'Differ' serves as the natural opposite: where 'share' implies agreement or similarity, 'differ' highlights disagreement ('The two sides differ on the best approach'). For everyday conversation, 'share' is the most natural choice; 'hold' belongs in academic or formal writing.

share ↗have in commonhold ↗differ ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The verb 'share' comes from Old English 'scearu', meaning a cutting or division, related to 'shear' (to cut). The original sense was about dividing something into portions. By the 16th century, it was already being used for having something in common with others. The sense of telling personal thoughts emerged in the 1800s, and the digital 'sharing' of content on social media became widespread in the early 2000s.