shred
Americannoun
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a piece cut or torn off, especially in a narrow strip.
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a bit; scrap.
We haven't got a shred of evidence.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to be cut up, torn, etc..
The blouse had shredded in the wash.
-
Slang. to snowboard, skateboard, surf, or ski in a highly skilled or showily spectacular manner.
I bought a new action camera that I can mount to my helmet—stay tuned for rad videos of me shredding when I hit the slopes next weekend.
-
Slang. to play guitar very quickly with specific picking techniques, as during an electric guitar solo.
Fans in the mosh pit go wild when Eddie shreds on lead guitar.
noun
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a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off
-
a very small piece or amount; scrap
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has shreddedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have shredperfect
-
have shreddedperfect
-
has shredperfect 3rd person singular
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is shreddingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am shreddingprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been shreddingperfect progressive
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shreddingparticiple
-
are shreddingprogressive
-
has been shreddingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
shredssingular 3rd person
Past
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had shreddedperfect
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had shredperfect
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was shreddingprogressive singular
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shreddedsimple
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had been shreddingperfect progressive
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shredparticiple
-
were shreddingprogressive plural
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shreddedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of shred
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun shrede, schrede, shredd, Old English scrēade, scrēad “a cutting, a scrap”; cognate with Old Norse skrjōthr “worn-out book,” German Schrot “chips”; Middle English verb schreden “to chop, cut up,” Old English scrēadian “to pare, trim, prune (trees)”; akin to shroud; cf. screed
Vocabulary lists containing shred
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.
A former accountant from Paisley nicknamed Fred the Shred, Goodwin was headhunted to RBS to help build the biggest bank in the world.
From BBC • Jul. 31, 2025
Jones now runs the skateboard company he founded, Spread the Shred.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2022
They’ve known her all of their lives as Sister Shred.
From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2022
Ligety’s also spending even more time on his ski-gear company Shred, which feature helmets and goggles worn by numerous athletes on the circuit and recently worked on get-ready-for-snow workouts with Apple Fitness.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2021
I kicked my board into a spin like the dude in Tony Hawk: Shred.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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.
