shear stress

[ sheer-stres ]

/ ˈʃɪər ˌstrɛs /

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noun Physics.

the external force acting on an object or surface parallel to the slope or plane in which it lies; the stress tending to produce shear.

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Also shear·ing stress

[sheer-ing stres] /ˈʃɪər ɪŋ ˌstrɛs/ .

Origin of shear stress

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby shear stress

shear modulus, shear pin, shears, shear strain, shear strength, shear stress, shear stud, shear transformation, shearwater, shear wave, shear zone

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

How to use shear stress in a sentence

Shear Stress is such that, when material collapses under it, one part slides over the other.
The Aeroplane Speaks|H. Barber
On the lower rivets the shear stress becomes 9·7 tons, and the bearing pressure 27·4 tons, per square inch.
The Anatomy of Bridgework|William Henry Thorpe

British Dictionary definitions for shear stress

shear stress

noun

the form of stress in a body, part, etc, that tends to produce cutting rather than stretching or bending

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

Scientific definitions for shear stress

shear stress

A form of stress that subjects an object to which force is applied to skew, tending to cause shear strain. For example, shear stress on a block of wood would arise by fixing one end and applying force to this other; this would tend to change the block's shape from a rectangle to a parallelogram. See also strain.