sheaf

American  

[sheef] / ʃif /

noun

• sheaves
  plural

1. one of the bundles in which cereal plants, as wheat, rye, etc., are bound after reaping.

2. any bundle, cluster, or collection.

   a sheaf of papers.

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verb (used with object)

1. to bind (something) into a sheaf or sheaves.

sheaf British  

/ ʃiːf /

noun

1. a bundle of reaped but unthreshed corn tied with one or two bonds

2. a bundle of objects tied together

3. the arrows contained in a quiver

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verb

1. (tr) to bind or tie into a sheaf

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sheaflike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sheaves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sheaf

before 900; Middle English shefe (noun), Old English schēaf; cognate with Dutch schoof sheaf, German Schaub wisp of straw, Old Norse skauf tail of a fox

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Explanation

Those old love letters tied up with a ribbon at the back of your closet? Last week's newspapers bundled up for recycling? Each is a sheaf — a tied up bundle of something ready for storage or carrying. Although sheaf almost always refers to bundles of paper, there's one striking exception to this, as any fan of Robin Hood knows. What Robin and his merry men carried on their backs were sheaves — bundles of arrows held in a handy little case called a quiver. After all, a sheaf of love letters or newspapers would make a pretty poor weapon against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sheaf sheaves

Nieuwenhuijsen reached out to Kars, who connected her with the middle-aged Dutch couple who had been safeguarding a sheaf of old Sablonière family letters in bundles of plastic bags—and were Nieuwenhuijsen’s own long-lost cousins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

"I can talk about him forever, but that won't benefit the people of Bangladesh," the BNP leader said about the Islamist chief, to crowds waving flags with the party symbol, a sheaf of rice.

From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026

The piled sheaf of papers from his confession resembles a manuscript.

From Salon ● May 12, 2024

Charming and intimidating, he has the air of a weary hipster; a saxophone or a paintbrush or a sheaf of poetry would not be out of place in his hands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sheaf of papers folded lengthwise.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Mr. Holland’s information about the sheaves of Wilde forgeries that bedeviled booksellers’ shelves in the 1930s?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

At his farm just outside Tunis, Hasan Chetoui stood clutching dry sheaves of wheat, the ears empty husks, after managing to save only 20 hectares of the 150 he planted.

From Reuters ● May 25, 2023

Her organization sees sheaves of Social Security numbers available as “buy-one-get-one” deals packaged with other consumer data on offer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

Following along, we form our sheaves into simple offerings for the altar in front of us.

From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2022

The road bent its way along the coast, dead sheaves of saltgrass overhanging the pavement.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

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Related Words

• assemblage
• assortment
• band
• batch
• bevy
• bundle
• chunk
• cluster
• crew
• crowd
• flock
• gang
• group
• lot
• mess
• mob
• multitude
• number
• pack
• pile

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