sheaf
Americannoun
plural
sheaves-
one of the bundles in which cereal plants, as wheat, rye, etc., are bound after reaping.
-
any bundle, cluster, or collection.
a sheaf of papers.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a bundle of reaped but unthreshed corn tied with one or two bonds
-
a bundle of objects tied together
-
the arrows contained in a quiver
verb
Other Word Forms
- sheaflike adjective
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sheaf
Beowulf: A New Telling
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The Unteachables
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The Contender
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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.
"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
Fittingly, the four-and-a-half hours leading up to them feel like a sheaf of love letters.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
The piled sheaf of papers from his confession resembles a manuscript.
From Salon • May 12, 2024
“This is not about me,” he said, handing me the sheaf.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 5, 2024
She was doubled over beneath the weight of a sheaf of hawthorn for the kitchen hearth, barefoot, her head bowed.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
