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Shear (verb)
To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
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Shear (verb)
To remove the fleece from a sheep etc by clipping.
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Shear (verb)
To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
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Shear (verb)
To reap, as grain.
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Shear (verb)
To deprive of property; to fleece.
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Shear (noun)
A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger.
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Shear (noun)
The act of shearing, or something removed by shearing.
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Shear (noun)
Forces that push in opposite directions.
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Shear (noun)
The response of a rock to deformation usually by compressive stress, resulting in particular textures.
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Shear (adjective)
misspelling of sheer
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Sheer (adjective)
Very thin or transparent.
“Her light, sheer dress caught everyone’s attention.”
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Sheer (adjective)
Pure in composition; unmixed; unadulterated.
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Sheer (adjective)
Downright; complete; pure.
“I think it is sheer genius to invent such a thing.”
“This poem is sheer nonsense.”
“Through technological wizardry and sheer audacity, Google has shown how we can transform the intellectual riches of our libraries….”
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Sheer (adjective)
Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something.
“The army’s sheer size made it impossible to resist.”
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Sheer (adjective)
Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular.
“It was a sheer drop of 180 feet.”
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Sheer (adverb)
Clean; quite; at once.
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Sheer (noun)
A sheer curtain or fabric.
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Sheer (noun)
The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern.
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Sheer (noun)
An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship.
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Sheer (verb)
To swerve from a course.
“A horse sheers at a bicycle.”
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Sheer (verb)
To shear.
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Shear (verb)
cut the wool off (a sheep or other animal)
“Paul has never sheared a sheep before”
“demonstrations of sheep shearing”
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Shear (verb)
cut off (something such as hair, wool, or grass), with scissors or shears
“I’ll shear off all that fleece”
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Shear (verb)
have something cut off
“they were shorn of their hair”
“the richest man in the US was shorn of nearly $2 billion”
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Shear (verb)
break off or cause to break off, owing to a structural strain
“the gear sheared and jammed in the rear wheel”
“the left wing had been almost completely sheared off”
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Shear (noun)
a strain produced by pressure in the structure of a substance, when its layers are laterally shifted in relation to each other
“aluminium is not very resilient to shear forces”
“the water from the upper source is emitted at the same speed as the main flow; there is thus no shear”
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Sheer (adjective)
nothing other than; unmitigated (used for emphasis)
“she giggled with sheer delight”
“it’s been sheer hard work”
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Sheer (adjective)
(especially of a cliff or wall) perpendicular or nearly so
“the sheer ice walls”
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Sheer (adjective)
(of a fabric) very thin; diaphanous
“sheer white silk chiffon”
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Sheer (adverb)
perpendicularly
“the ridge fell sheer, in steep crags”
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Sheer (adverb)
completely; right
“she went sheer forward when the door was open”
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Sheer (noun)
a very fine or diaphanous fabric or article
“she ditched her glossy sheers while pregnant”
“I put up the new curtains and sheers”
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Sheer (noun)
a sudden deviation from a course, especially by a boat.
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Sheer (noun)
the upward slope of a ship’s lines towards the bow and stern.
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Sheer (verb)
(typically of a boat) swerve or change course quickly
“the boat sheered off to beach further up the coast”
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Sheer (verb)
avoid or move away from an unpleasant topic
“her mind sheered away from images she didn’t want to dwell on”