shear

[sheer]

verb (used with object)

sheared, sheared, shorn, shearing. 

1. to cut (something).

2. to remove by or as if by cutting or clipping with a sharp instrument.

   to shear wool from sheep.

3. to cut or clip the hair, fleece, wool, etc., from.

   to shear sheep.

4. to strip or deprive (usually followed byof ).

   to shear someone of power.

5. Chiefly Scot.,  to reap with a sickle.

6. to travel through by or as if by cutting.

   Chimney swifts sheared the air.

verb (used without object)

sheared, sheared, shorn, shearing. 

1. to cut or cut through something with a sharp instrument.

2. to progress by or as if by cutting.

   The cruiser sheared through the water.

3. Mechanics, Geology.,  to become fractured along a plane as a result of forces acting parallel to the plane.

4. Chiefly Scot.,  to reap crops with a sickle.

noun

1. (sometimes used with a singular verb),  Usually shears.

   1. scissors of large size (usually used withpair of ).

   2. any of various other cutting implements or machines having two blades that resemble or suggest those of scissors.

2. the act or process of shearing or being sheared.

3. a shearing of sheep (used in stating the age of sheep).

   a sheep of one shear.

4. the quantity, especially of wool or fleece, cut off at one shearing.

5. one blade of a pair of large scissors.

6. Also called shear legs,. Also called sheerlegs. (usually used with a plural verb),  Usually shears. Also sheers a framework for hoisting heavy weights, consisting of two or more spars with their legs separated, fastened together near the top and steadied by guys, which support a tackle.

7. a machine for cutting rigid material, as metal in sheet or plate form, by moving the edge of a blade through it.

8. Mechanics, Geology.,  the tendency of forces to deform or fracture a member or a rock in a direction parallel to the force, as by sliding one section against another.

9. Physics.,  the lateral deformation produced in a body by an external force, expressed as the ratio of the lateral displacement between two points lying in parallel planes to the vertical distance between the planes.

shear

/ ʃɪə /

verb

1. (tr) to remove (the fleece or hair) of (sheep, etc) by cutting or clipping

2. to cut or cut through (something) with shears or a sharp instrument

3. engineering to cause (a part, member, shaft, etc) to deform or fracture or (of a part, etc) to deform or fracture as a result of excess torsion or transverse load

4. to strip or divest

   to shear someone of his power

5. to move through (something) by or as if by cutting

6. to reap (corn, etc) with a scythe or sickle

noun

1. the act, process, or an instance of shearing

2. a shearing of a sheep or flock of sheep, esp when referred to as an indication of age

   a sheep of two shears

3. a form of deformation or fracture in which parallel planes in a body or assembly slide over one another

4. physics the deformation of a body, part, etc, expressed as the lateral displacement between two points in parallel planes divided by the distance between the planes

5. either one of the blades of a pair of shears, scissors, etc

6. a machine that cuts sheet material by passing a knife blade through it

7. a device for lifting heavy loads consisting of a tackle supported by a framework held steady by guy ropes

shear

1. A force, movement or pressure applied to an object perpendicular to a given axis, with greater value on one side of the axis than the other.

2. See more at shear force stress strain

3. See skew

Other Word Forms

• shearer noun
• shearless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shear¹

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English sheren, Old English sceran, cognate with Dutch, German scheren, Old Norse skera; (noun) (in sense “tool for shearing”) Middle English sheres (plural), continuing Old English scērero, scēar, two words derived from the same root as the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of shear¹

Old English sceran; related to Old Norse skera to cut, Old Saxon, Old High German skeran to shear; see _share ²

Example Sentences

A 2024 study, external suggested the two main drivers to this uncertainty are changes in wind speed and direction through the atmosphere, known as vertical wind shear, and atmospheric moisture.

From BBC

NFL teams had to shear an enormous number of players from rosters Tuesday, dropping from as many as 90 players to 53 by 1 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times

This flock -- which will be used for shearing, not eating -- comes from a spread up north, where the rancher lets the sheep’s wool grow long so the kids will have something to hold on to.

From Los Angeles Times

US court papers reveal how, in late April 1989, he broke into his neighbour's bungalow one night, wearing a mask and armed with a knife and a pair of garden shears.

From BBC

To that end, the dire wolf was bigger than the grey wolves that existed at the same time, with large, shearing teeth carrying an extremely strong bite force.

From Salon

Related Words

• mow 
• prune 
• shave 
• snip 
• trim