Specifically, an ethnic group of people of Tibetan origin living below Mt. Everest in the Solo Khumbu area of Nepal. The name is now more generically applied to all high-altitude porters in the Himalayas.

An ethnic group of Tibetan origin living below Mt. Everest in the Solo Khumbu area. From the Sherpa's effective monopoly as high-altitude porters, the name has come to be applied generically to all who work in that profession.