What does "shear" mean?
A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger.
Shear
/ʃɪə(ɹ)/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger.
- Grammar: shear is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, abridge, abscind, abstract.
- Useful contrasts: unsheared, axial, bending.
- Usage evidence: They usually shear sheep in spring.
How to use "shear"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shear" 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 "shear" 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 "shear" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shear" 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 "shear" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb 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 "abbreviate" 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.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shear", 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 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."
Show 5 more definitions
- 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
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."
Example
"They usually shear sheep in spring."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shear"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, abridge, abscind, abstract, amputate, annihilate.
How do you use "shear" in a sentence?
They usually shear sheep in spring.
How do you pronounce "shear"?
Pronounced /ʃɪə(ɹ)/.
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
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.