shave
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.
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to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off oraway ).
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to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool.
to shave hides in preparing leather.
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to reduce to shavings or thin slices.
to shave wood.
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to cut or trim closely.
to shave a lawn.
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to scrape, graze, or come very near to.
The car just shaved the garage door.
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Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.
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to reduce or deduct from.
The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.
noun
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the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.
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a thin slice; a shaving.
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any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.
verb
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(also intr) to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor
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to cut or trim very closely
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to reduce to shavings
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to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare
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to touch or graze in passing
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informal to reduce (a price) by a slight amount
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commerce to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal
noun
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the act or an instance of shaving
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any tool for scraping
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a thin slice or shaving
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an instance of barely touching something
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informal a narrow escape
Other Word Forms
- reshave verb
- shavable adjective
- shaveable adjective
- unshavable adjective
- unshaveable adjective
- unshaved adjective
- well-shaved adjective
Etymology
Origin of shave
before 900; (v.) Middle English schaven, schafen, Old English sc ( e ) afan; cognate with Dutch schaven to plane (a plank), abrade (the skin), Low German schaven, German schaben, Old Norse skafa to scrape, Gothic skaban to shear, shave; (noun) Middle English schave tool for shaving, Old English sc ( e ) afa, derivative of the v.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"If people asked what had happened, I would joke about a shaving mishap rather than admit the real reason."
From BBC
A pilot program in Placer County found that that shaved three to four days off processing time.
From Los Angeles Times
As major U.S. stock indexes buckle and stutter, many advisors are turning their attention to moves that can help shave back tax bills for 2026 or in future years.
From Barron's
If Iran succeeds in blocking the strait for months, and oil stays above $100, Sheets thinks it could shave 0.9 percentage points off his expectations for 2.9% global GDP growth this year.
From Barron's
If Iran succeeds in blocking the strait for months, and oil stays above $100, Sheets thinks it could shave 0.9 percentage points off his expectations for 2.9% global GDP growth this year.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
