shear
shear Lexical Profile
shear Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large cutting instrument resembling scissors, typically used in the plural (shears) for clipping wool, trimming hedges, or cutting sheet metal.
"The gardener used a heavy pair of shears to trim the overgrown boxwood hedge."
A strain or deformation in the structure of a substance or fluid layers caused by parallel internal surfaces sliding past one another in opposite directions.
"The pilot received an urgent alert regarding severe wind shear near the runway."
The act, process, or seasonal instance of clipping the fleece from a sheep.
"The flock's spring shear yielded an impressive amount of high-grade merino wool."
• verb
To cut the wool or hair off an animal or person using clippers or large scissors.
"Farmers across the valley gather every spring to shear the sheep before the summer heat arrives."
To break off or cause to break off owing to a structural strain or sliding lateral force.
"The excessive torque caused the steel bolts on the drive shaft to shear completely."
To strip or deprive someone of a possession, privilege, or status (usually used in the passive with 'of').
"Shorn of his official title and authority, the former director retired from public life."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'shear' (to cut or clip, or a sliding force) with its homophone 'sheer' (complete, steep, or transparent). The past participle 'shorn' is primarily used as an adjective or in figurative contexts (e.g., 'shorn of dignity'), whereas 'sheared' is preferred for the literal action of cutting.
• Rhymes for shear
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English scieran ('to cleave, hew, cut with a sharp instrument'), derived from a Proto-Germanic root shared with 'share' and 'shore'.