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Shear

//ʃɪə(ɹ)// adj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective

1
Misspelling of sheer. alt-of, misspelling

Proper Noun

1
A surname.
"Real people in a picture that was used by a catfish to create a fake identity could have a claim because their likeness was used without permission, Shear said."

Noun

1
A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger. countable, uncountable
"short of their wool, and naked from the shear"
2
a large edge tool that cuts sheet metal by passing a blade through it wordnet
3
A large machine use for cutting sheet metal. countable, uncountable
4
(physics) a deformation of an object in which parallel planes remain parallel but are shifted in a direction parallel to themselves wordnet
5
The act of shearing, or something removed by shearing. countable, uncountable
"After the second shearing, he is a two-shear ram; […] at the expiration of another year, he is a three-shear ram; the name always taking its date from the time of shearing."

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6
Forces that push in opposite directions. countable, uncountable
7
The phenomenon of wind shear. uncountable
"The first effect of a wind shear was detected at 34 to 42 seconds into the takeoff, at a speed of about 115 KIAS with the airplane about 3,800 feet down the runway. An average shear rate of about 2.5 knots per second resulted in an interruption in acceleration at this point with the airspeed remaining at 115 to 120 KIAS for 7 to 10 seconds."
8
A specific instance of wind shear. countable
"We hit a nasty shear on approach and had to go around."
9
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. countable, uncountable
10
The response of a rock to deformation usually by compressive stress, resulting in particular textures. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping. intransitive, transitive
"shear the llamas"
2
become deformed by forces tending to produce a shearing strain wordnet
3
To cut the hair of (a person).
"shear the afro off someone's head"
4
cut with shears wordnet
5
To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
"So trenchant was the Templar’s weapon, that it shore asunder, as it had been a willow twig, the tough and plaited handle of the mace, which the ill-fated Saxon reared to parry the blow, and, descending on his head, levelled him with the earth."

Show 9 more definitions

6
cut or cut through with shears wordnet
7
To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
8
shear the wool from wordnet
9
To change in direction or speed. intransitive
"The total along-the-runway wind component sheared from an 8-knot headwind to about a 56-knot tailwind over a 44-second period."
10
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.
11
To make a vertical cut in coal. intransitive
12
(also 'shear off') To break or suddenly separate because of excessive force, eg. a bolt.
13
To reap, as grain. Scotland
"Soon as the bending Scythe, And Sickle keen, have shear'd the golden Grain, Array'd in all the Equipage of Death, Forth the stern Sportsman stalks"
14
To deprive of property; to fleece. figuratively

Etymology

Etymology 1

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 ski̇̀rti (“separate”), Welsh ysgar (“separate”). See also sharp.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

From Middle English schyre (“pure, bright, fair”). Also a German surname, variant of Schier, itself a variant of Scheuer or from a cognate of the Middle English word.

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