sheaf

[ sheef ]

/ ʃif /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: sheaf / sheaves on Thesaurus.com

noun, 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)

to bind (something) into a sheaf or sheaves.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

OTHER WORDS FROM sheaf

sheaflike, adjective

Words nearby sheaf

Shcherbakov, she, shea, shea butter, sheading, sheaf, shealing, shea nut, shear, sheared, Shearer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sheaf in a sentence

A handful of places responded to our public records request with a sheaf of court documents and told us to figure out the totals on our own.
Cities Spend Millions On Police Misconduct Every Year. Here’s Why It’s So Difficult to Hold Departments Accountable.|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux (Amelia.Thomson-DeVeaux@abc.com)|February 22, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Instead of merely giving me a few data points to learn from, The Exchange wound up collecting sheafs of interesting data from upstart companies with big Q3 performance.
Here’s how fast a few dozen startups grew in Q3 2020|Alex Wilhelm|October 23, 2020|TechCrunch
We would get a sheaf of papers and pencils and listen to the tapes.
Going Public With the Nixon Tapes|Scott Porch|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was months after the assignment when, at last, I presented to Murcko a thick sheaf of pages.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis|Richard Ben Cramer|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

She started what she called her "lecture" with a fat sheaf of papers in front of her, from which she proceeded to read.
A First Taste of Documenta|Blake Gopnik|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No, I don't have a sheaf of short stories buried in a drawer.
How "Patriots" Changed Me|David Frum|May 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In one hand she carried a sheaf of Clinton literature; in the other she was lugging a stack of large yard signs.
The Boys on the Bus|Ben Crair|November 3, 2008|DAILY BEAST
Rarely, sodium urate occurs in crystalline form—slender prisms, arranged in fan- or sheaf-like structures (Fig. 32).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A wisp of wheat was knotted round her neck for a necklace, and a perfect sheaf of it in her hair.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Ward busied himself with a sheaf of morning mail and miscellaneous police circulars.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Her hat was covered with poppies and wild azalea, and she had a sheaf of buttercups and "blue eyes" in her belt.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
The two contestants mounted new horses and sat face to face; behind each stood an attendant with the sheaf of reed lances.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for sheaf

sheaf

/ (ʃiːf) /

noun plural sheaves (ʃiːvz)

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

(tr) to bind or tie into a sheaf

Word Origin for sheaf

Old English sceaf, related to Old High German skoub sheaf, Old Norse skauf tail, Gothic skuft tuft of hair

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sheaf

Origin of sheaf

OTHER WORDS FROM sheaf

Words nearby sheaf

Words related to sheaf

How to use sheaf in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sheaf

Word Origin for sheaf