a simple or rude structure built for shelter, storage, etc.
a large, strongly built structure, often open at the sides or end.
to emit and let fall, as tears.
When someone arrived to rescue us, I shed tears of joy and gratitude.
to impart or release; give or send forth (light, sound, fragrance, influence, etc.).
A full moon was shedding its light on the little town as they entered it.
to resist being penetrated or affected by.
The jacket is treated with a durable water-repellent finish to shed light precipitation.
to cast off or let fall (leaves, hair, feathers, skin, shell, etc.) by natural process.
A healthy, growing snake will shed its skin about once a month.
to get rid of or release oneself from.
First, we must shed our illusions about what rural life is supposed to be like.
I find that I go through phases where I shed some of my friendships.
to pour forth (water or other liquid), as a fountain or river.
All of these rivers eventually shed their waters into the Luapula River.
Textiles. to separate (the warp) in forming a shed.
to cast off hair, feathers, skin, or other covering or parts by natural process.
All dogs shed, and need some grooming to brush out loose hair.
to fall off, as leaves.
Leaves that are severely infected by this disease will shed prematurely.
to drop out, as hair, seed, grain, etc..
My hair began shedding during the first month after I started taking the medication.
The seeds of this plant shed soon after the pod opens, so they’re hard to find.
contraction of she had.
contraction of she would.
to pour forth or cause to pour forth
to shed tears
shed blood
to clarify or supply additional information about
to cast off or lose
the snake shed its skin
trees shed their leaves
(of a lorry) to drop (its load) on the road by accident
to abolish or get rid of (jobs, workers, etc)
to repel
this coat sheds water
(also intr) (in weaving) to form an opening between (the warp threads) in order to permit the passage of the shuttle
dialect (tr) to make a parting in (the hair)
(in weaving) the space made by shedding
short for watershed
a parting in the hair
a small building or lean-to of light construction, used for storage, shelter, etc
a large roofed structure, esp one with open sides, used for storage, repairing locomotives, sheepshearing, etc
a large retail outlet in the style of a warehouse
another name for freezing works
at work
See contraction.
First recorded in 1475–85; variant of shade
First recorded before 950; Middle English verb shed(d)en, shed, Old English scēadan, scādan; cognate with German scheiden “to separate, divide”
The small, simple building in your yard where you keep tools or gardening equipment is a shed. As a noun, shed means "hut," and probably comes from the word shade. But shed is also a verb meaning "to cast off," like when a snake sheds its skin. If your couch is covered in fur, it might be because your dog is shedding. You can shed non-physical things, like a bad habit. Does your cat shed? If so, maybe I should sleep in the shed since I'm allergic.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
SpaceX’s market capitalization has shed more than $800 billion from the high it reached on July 16, putting its valuation at less than $1.8 trillion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Even before the latest flare-up, recent announcements shed light on Gulf oil producers’ thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Ellison family recently shed its movie theater chain, which it picked up as part of the Paramount acquisition, to clear the way for the Warner deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
In a separate incident in Greenisland, Carrickfergus, the fire service dealt with a row of terraced houses, along with two oil tanks and a shed, on fire.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
With her son-in-law and the mayor of San Francisco, who happens to be a physician, standing by as witnesses, Phineas's coffin is uncovered and carried to a shed.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
In other words, for each $100,000, she’d get a lifetime income of $7,600 a year, guaranteed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“She saw life events like her son’s first day at school and her wedding that a little over 4 years ago we thought she’d never see.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
She found so much of it was familiar since she’d heard her mom talking about it her whole life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
"He said he needed to pay off his death duties of his mother after she'd died earlier that year," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
She looked up from her landing place, where she’d managed to become wedged between the legs of the smallest chair.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Watch: Sobers sheds tears over West Indies' decline.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Around 100 firefighters have been called to a fire affecting a house, gardens, sheds and a railway embankment in Walthamstow, east London.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The study also sheds light on how these natural drug-producing systems evolved.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
“Comcast now sheds its conglomerate discount and each company can adopt a capital structure appropriate for the times,” Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson wrote in a note to clients on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The sheds they were among were outwardly like thousands of other sheds they had passed.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
There is some evidence that Netflix is shedding subscribers, or at least getting on their nerves.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Supporters say the changes will make the government more efficient while shedding the physical legacy of British rule, as well as its names.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
In addition to slashing its workforce, the company is shedding four of its studios.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The natural resources and mining category was a laggard, shedding 5,000 jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
He was covered with Gurgi’s shedding hair, in addition to the distressing odor of a wet wolfhound.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
