shave

American  

[sheyv] / ʃeɪv /

verb (used without object)

shaved, shaved, shaven, shaving

1. to remove a growth of beard with a razor.

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verb (used with object)

shaved, shaved, shaven, shaving

1. to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.

2. to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off oraway ).

3. to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool.

   to shave hides in preparing leather.

4. to reduce to shavings or thin slices.

   to shave wood.

5. to cut or trim closely.

   to shave a lawn.

6. to scrape, graze, or come very near to.

   The car just shaved the garage door.

   Synonyms:

   touch, glance, brush

7. Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.

8. to reduce or deduct from.

   The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.

noun

1. the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.

2. a thin slice; a shaving.

3. any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.

shave British  

/ ʃeɪv /

verb

1. (also intr) to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor

2. to cut or trim very closely

3. to reduce to shavings

4. to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare

5. to touch or graze in passing

6. informal to reduce (a price) by a slight amount

7. commerce to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal

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noun

1. the act or an instance of shaving

2. any tool for scraping

3. a thin slice or shaving

4. an instance of barely touching something

5. informal a narrow escape

shave Idioms  

1. see close call (shave).

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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

“Today’s plunge in the oil market should single-handedly shave off $0.45/gallon, implying the national average pulling back to around $3.70,” Molchanov wrote.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

But the crisis in the Gulf could shave off growth by as much as 1%, as per various brokerages.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Oxford Analytica analysts Sarah Fowler and Tatia Bolkvadze estimate that the war will shave about a percentage point off global economic growth, taking it down to 2% this year.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

But if Iran succeeds in blocking the strait for months, and oil stays above $100, Citigroup’s Nathan Sheets thinks it could shave 0.9 percentage points off his expectations for 2.9% global GDP growth this year.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Did he stand on a chair in order to shave, or was his home customized to meet his needs?

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

• brush
• cut down
• kiss
• pare
• prune
• shear
• shred
• skim
• slash
• trim