What does "shave" mean?
An instance of shaving.
Shave
/ʃeɪv/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An instance of shaving.
- Grammar: shave is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: shaving, abate, abbreviate, abrade.
- Useful contrasts: add, grow, growth.
- Usage evidence: It is pleasant to shave off my beard.
How to use "shave"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shave" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shave" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shave" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shave" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shave" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "shaving" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shave", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An instance of shaving.
"I instructed the barber to give me a shave."
- 2 the act of removing hair with a razor wordnet
- 3 A thin slice; a shaving.
"a jolly mealy 'tator, with a shave of butter, and a shake of pepper"
- 4 An exorbitant discount on a note. US, dated, slang
"yea, tis knowable that the paper money of some of them would not pass, comparatively speaking, much, if any, beyond the smoke of the chimney from whence 'twas issued and circulated before you, or those who had it would have to take a broker's shave on it , at the rate of from a ¼, to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, or more per cent, before it could be used as solvently available means of payment."
- 5 A premium paid for an extension of the time of delivery or payment, or for the right to vary a stock contract in any particular. US, dated, slang
"If this were a dishonest transaction, why did the companies settle? If it were not, why did the heirs submit to a shave of one-half their claims?"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A hand tool, mainly for woodworking, consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end.
- 7 A narrow miss or escape; a close shave. informal
""[…] I had an awful shave getting into the harbour," remarked Archie."
Verb
- 1 To make (the head, skin etc.) bald or (the hair) shorter by using a tool such as a razor or electric clippers to cut the hair close to the skin. transitive
- 2 remove body hair with a razor wordnet
- 3 To cut anything in this fashion. transitive
"The Lab'rer vvith the bending Scythe is ſeen / Shaving the Surface of the vvaving Green; […]"
- 4 touch the surface of lightly wordnet
- 5 To remove hair from one's face by this means. intransitive
"I had little time to shave this morning."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 cut closely wordnet
- 7 To cut finely, for example slices of meat. transitive
- 8 make shavings of or reduce to shavings wordnet
- 9 To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing.
"Now shaves with level wing the deep."
- 10 cut or remove with or as if with a plane wordnet
- 11 To reduce in size, weight, time taken etc., usually by a small amount.
"Kingsman’s two-hour 20-minute running time could have been shaved by around a fifth, without losing a great deal."
- 12 cut the price of wordnet
- 13 To be hard and severe in a bargain with; to practice extortion on; to cheat. archaic, transitive
- 14 To buy (a note) at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest, or to deduct in discounting it more than the legal rate allows. US, dated, slang, transitive
- 15 To injure by employing a knife. Multicultural-London-English, slang, transitive
"Took one of the goons, the fuck they gonna do? Shave him in the heart then the mandem smoke a zoot"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"It is pleasant to shave off my beard."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shave"?
Common synonyms include: shaving, abate, abbreviate, abrade, abridge, abscind.
How do you use "shave" in a sentence?
It is pleasant to shave off my beard.
How do you pronounce "shave"?
Pronounced /ʃeɪv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaban, from Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve”). Cognate with West Frisian skave, Dutch schaven, Low German schaven, German schaben, Danish skave, Norwegian Nynorsk skava, Swedish skava, Icelandic skafa, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (skaban), all roughly “to scrape, chafe, shave, plane, remove the outer lay of”.
Etymology 2
From Middle English shave, from Old English sceafa, from Proto-Germanic *skabô.