shear

Meaning

Verb

1. To remove the fleece from (a sheep etc.) by clipping.
2. To cut the hair of (a person).
3. To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
4. To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
5. To change in direction or speed.
6. To transform by displacing every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point’s distance from the line.
7. To make a vertical cut in coal.
8. To reap, as grain.
9. To deprive of property; to fleece.

Noun

1. A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger.
2. A large machine use for cutting sheet metal.
3. The act of shearing, or something removed by shearing.
4. Forces that push in opposite directions.
5. The phenomenon of wind shear.
6. A specific instance of wind shear.
7. A transformation that displaces every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point's distance from the line.
8. The response of a rock to deformation usually by compressive stress, resulting in particular textures.

Adj

Misspelling of sheer.

Synonyms

cut

clip

mow

shave

trim

fleece

reap

sever

crop

shearing

snip

scissor

cut away

sythe

prune

chop

carve

shorten

cleave

slice

haircut

💇

harvest

hash

#️⃣

hew

incision

intersection

jab

jump cut

lop

nip off

pare

peel

pierce

pinch

plane section

poll

reduce

rend

resect

retrench

saw

🪚

scythe

section

skin

slicer

slit

spay

stab

strip

tear

tease

pare down

traverse

trimming

crock up

cut hair

cut to

operate on

slice up

snip off

clip hair

surgery

shearing force

give haircut

amputate

shear transformation

break

break down

break off

calve

cross

cutback

cut back

cut out

cutting

deform

divide

edit

edit out

fall apart

fell

fix

fracture

glean

hackle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʃɪə(ɹ)/

Etymology

From Middle English sheren, scheren, from Old English sċieran (“to shear; to shave”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeran, from Proto-Germanic *skeraną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”).
Cognate with West Frisian skarre, Low German scheren, Dutch scheren, German scheren, Danish skære, Norwegian Bokmål skjære, Norwegian Nynorsk skjera, Swedish skära, Finnish keritä; and (from Indo-European) with Ancient Greek κείρω (keírō, “I cut off”), Latin caro (“flesh”), Albanian shqerr (“to tear, cut”), harr (“to cut, to mow”), Lithuanian skìrti (“separate”), Welsh ysgar (“separate”). See also sharp.