shear

American  

[sheer] / ʃɪər /

verb (used with object)

• shears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sheared,
  past participle,  past
• shorn,
  past participle
• shearing
  present participle

1. to cut (something).

2. to remove by or as if by cutting or clipping with a sharp instrument.

   to shear wool from sheep.

3. to cut or clip the hair, fleece, wool, etc., from.

   to shear sheep.

4. to strip or deprive (usually followed byof ).

   to shear someone of power.

5. Chiefly Scot. to reap with a sickle.

6. to travel through by or as if by cutting.

   Chimney swifts sheared the air.

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verb (used without object)

• shears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sheared,
  past participle,  past
• shorn,
  past participle
• shearing
  present participle

1. to cut or cut through something with a sharp instrument.

2. to progress by or as if by cutting.

   The cruiser sheared through the water.

3. Mechanics, Geology. to become fractured along a plane as a result of forces acting parallel to the plane.

4. Chiefly Scot. to reap crops with a sickle.

noun

1. (sometimes used with a singular verb) Usually shears.

   1. scissors of large size (usually used withpair of ).

   2. any of various other cutting implements or machines having two blades that resemble or suggest those of scissors.

2. the act or process of shearing or being sheared.

3. a shearing of sheep (used in stating the age of sheep).

   a sheep of one shear.

4. the quantity, especially of wool or fleece, cut off at one shearing.

5. one blade of a pair of large scissors.

6. Also called shear legs, sheerlegs. (usually used with a plural verb) Usually shears. Also sheers a framework for hoisting heavy weights, consisting of two or more spars with their legs separated, fastened together near the top and steadied by guys, which support a tackle.

7. a machine for cutting rigid material, as metal in sheet or plate form, by moving the edge of a blade through it.

8. Mechanics, Geology. the tendency of forces to deform or fracture a member or a rock in a direction parallel to the force, as by sliding one section against another.

9. Physics. the lateral deformation produced in a body by an external force, expressed as the ratio of the lateral displacement between two points lying in parallel planes to the vertical distance between the planes.

shear British  

/ ʃɪə /

verb

1. (tr) to remove (the fleece or hair) of (sheep, etc) by cutting or clipping

2. to cut or cut through (something) with shears or a sharp instrument

3. engineering to cause (a part, member, shaft, etc) to deform or fracture or (of a part, etc) to deform or fracture as a result of excess torsion or transverse load

4. to strip or divest

   to shear someone of his power

5. to move through (something) by or as if by cutting

6. to reap (corn, etc) with a scythe or sickle

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noun

1. the act, process, or an instance of shearing

2. a shearing of a sheep or flock of sheep, esp when referred to as an indication of age

   a sheep of two shears

3. a form of deformation or fracture in which parallel planes in a body or assembly slide over one another

4. physics the deformation of a body, part, etc, expressed as the lateral displacement between two points in parallel planes divided by the distance between the planes

5. either one of the blades of a pair of shears, scissors, etc

6. a machine that cuts sheet material by passing a knife blade through it

7. a device for lifting heavy loads consisting of a tackle supported by a framework held steady by guy ropes

shear Scientific  

/ shîr /

1. A force, movement or pressure applied to an object perpendicular to a given axis, with greater value on one side of the axis than the other.

2. See more at shear force stress strain

3. See skew

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shearer
  noun
• shearless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• shearing
  present
• sheared
  past
• shorn
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shear
  simple
• shears
  simple
• have sheared
  perfect
• have shorn
  perfect
• has sheared
  perfect
• has shorn
  perfect
• am shearing
  progressive
• are shearing
  progressive
• is shearing
  progressive
• have been shearing
  perfect progressive
• has been shearing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sheared
  simple
• had sheared
  perfect
• had shorn
  perfect
• was shearing
  progressive
• were shearing
  progressive
• had been shearing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shear
  simple
• will have sheared
  perfect
• will have shorn
  perfect
• will be shearing
  progressive
• will have been shearing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shear

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English sheren, Old English sceran, cognate with Dutch, German scheren, Old Norse skera; (noun) (in sense “tool for shearing”) Middle English sheres (plural), continuing Old English scērero, scēar, two words derived from the same root as the verb

Explanation

A shear is a cutting implement that looks like a long pair of scissors. Also like scissors, this form of the noun is usually plural. You can cut metal, prune a tree, or cut up a chicken with shears. In farming, when you remove wool from a sheep, goat, or even a llama, you shear the animal. Most farmers shear their sheep once a year, but the timing varies from farm to farm. The verb shear also means to cause to break off or come apart with a cutting force. The wind during a storm can blow hard enough to shear the tiles off a roof.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shear shears sheared shorn shearing

Simon is the latest in a busy hurricane season in the Pacific, where the powerful El Nino ocean warming phenomenon is weakening wind shear, allowing the storms to gain in strength.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

In the Pacific, El Nino's effect on the atmosphere leaves little vertical wind shear over the Pacific, creating favorable conditions for hurricanes to intensify.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

There is currently limited wind shear meaning the storm has chance to strengthen.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

This year, wind shear is concentrated in the same spot where hurricanes historically develop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

As the plane came in on its final approach, the pilots encountered severe wind shear.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Other items such as an Oxo wooden spoon set, a Le Creuset wine stopper and Wusthof shears - all bought on Amazon - were photographed inside the motorhome.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

I found the most beautiful, and still-sharp, Japanese sewing shears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

That means buying fresh lobsters from your local market, boiling them and using kitchen shears to slice their shells from head to tail.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2024

In the salvage yard Monday morning, workers disassembled the metal trusses by attacking them with propane torches and a pair of giant shears that sliced them into more manageable pieces.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

As of Monday, the closure had sheared 16 million barrels from daily oil supplies, according to JPMorgan Chase analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

And so the men counted to three and they pushed, and Plymouth Rock sheared in half.

From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2024

Ms Rojas said the forces on the front platform of the sub sheared the clamp and the dome vacuum broke.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024

Some 11 million years ago, a large meteor impact on Mars sheared away parts of the planet and sent the rocks hurtling into space.

From Science Daily ● May 31, 2024

The merchant was the proprietor of a dry goods shop, and he always demanded that the sheep be sheared in his presence, so that he would not be cheated.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

When the World Cup began 30 days ago, few believed Belgium - shorn of so many of the star names who featured in their previous campaigns on this stage - were among the potential winners.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

However, the sale means the group is shorn of its most profitable division, raising the danger that it falls short of its revenue growth forecasts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

Viollet-le-Duc’s conception of Gothic architecture, shorn of religious, sentimental and romantic associations, was radically modern.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

Many nations do not send athletes to it, while others take skeleton teams, shorn of their leading lights, whose winter focus instead lies on training for lucrative spring road races or prominent summer track opportunities.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026

In the ditch beside the road, right side up but violently shorn of one wheel, rested a new coupé which had left Gatsby's drive not two minutes before.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The rising cost may not be welcomed by shoppers seeking woolly socks and jumpers this winter, but it does mean farmers are more likely to cover the cost of shearing.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

A backlight sufficient to be useful would disturb the laminar flow of air rushing across the rear decklid, increasing shearing turbulence and drag at the back of the car.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

"They've lost their livelihoods, they've lost their shearing sheds, livestock, just absolutely devastating," he told national broadcaster ABC.

From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026

To that end, the dire wolf was bigger than the grey wolves that existed at the same time, with large, shearing teeth carrying an extremely strong bite force.

From Salon ● May 15, 2025

Feeding and watering and shearing and lambing and even castrating and butchering, I do all these things.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Related Words

• mow
• prune
• shave
• snip
• trim