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• shed
  shed

  noun

  a simple or rude structure built for shelter, storage, etc.
• she'd
  she'd

  contraction of she had.

shed

¹ American  

[shed] / ʃɛd /

noun

1. 

   a simple or rude structure built for shelter, storage, etc.

2. a large, strongly built structure, often open at the sides or end.

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shed ² American  

[shed] / ʃɛd /

verb (used with object)

• sheds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shed,
  past participle,  past
• shedding
  present participle

1. to emit and let fall, as tears.

   When someone arrived to rescue us, I shed tears of joy and gratitude.

2. to impart or release; give or send forth (light, sound, fragrance, influence, etc.).

   A full moon was shedding its light on the little town as they entered it.

   Synonyms:

   effuse, radiate, emit

3. to resist being penetrated or affected by.

   The jacket is treated with a durable water-repellent finish to shed light precipitation.

   Synonyms:

   repel

4. to cast off or let fall (leaves, hair, feathers, skin, shell, etc.) by natural process.

   A healthy, growing snake will shed its skin about once a month.

5. to get rid of or release oneself from.

   First, we must shed our illusions about what rural life is supposed to be like.

   I find that I go through phases where I shed some of my friendships.

6. to pour forth (water or other liquid), as a fountain or river.

   All of these rivers eventually shed their waters into the Luapula River.

7. Textiles. to separate (the warp) in forming a shed.

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verb (used without object)

• sheds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shed,
  past participle,  past
• shedding
  present participle

1. to cast off hair, feathers, skin, or other covering or parts by natural process.

   All dogs shed, and need some grooming to brush out loose hair.

   Synonyms:

   slough, molt

2. to fall off, as leaves.

   Leaves that are severely infected by this disease will shed prematurely.

3. to drop out, as hair, seed, grain, etc..

   My hair began shedding during the first month after I started taking the medication.

   The seeds of this plant shed soon after the pod opens, so they’re hard to find.

noun

1. Textiles. (on a loom) a triangular, transverse opening created between raised and lowered warp threads through which the shuttle passes in depositing the loose thread that will become the weft.

idioms

1. shed blood,

   1. to cause blood to flow.

   2. to kill by violence; slaughter.

she'd ³ American  

[sheed] / ʃid /

1. contraction of she had.

2. contraction of she would.

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shed ¹ British  

/ ʃɛd /

verb

1. to pour forth or cause to pour forth

   to shed tears

   shed blood

2. to clarify or supply additional information about

3. to cast off or lose

   the snake shed its skin

   trees shed their leaves

4. (of a lorry) to drop (its load) on the road by accident

5. to abolish or get rid of (jobs, workers, etc)

6. to repel

   this coat sheds water

7. (also intr) (in weaving) to form an opening between (the warp threads) in order to permit the passage of the shuttle

8. dialect (tr) to make a parting in (the hair)

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noun

1. (in weaving) the space made by shedding

2. short for watershed

3. a parting in the hair

shed ² British  

/ ʃɛd /

noun

1. a small building or lean-to of light construction, used for storage, shelter, etc

2. a large roofed structure, esp one with open sides, used for storage, repairing locomotives, sheepshearing, etc

3. a large retail outlet in the style of a warehouse

4. another name for freezing works

5. at work

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verb

1. (tr) to store (hay or wool) in a shed

shed ³ British  

/ ʃɛd /

verb

1. (tr) to separate or divide off (some farm animals) from the remainder of a group

   a good dog can shed his sheep in a matter of minutes

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noun

1. (of a dog) the action of separating farm animals

shed ⁴ British  

/ ʃɛd /

noun

1. physics a former unit of nuclear cross section equal to 10 ^–52 square metre

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she'd ⁵ British  

/ ʃiːd /

contraction

1. she had or she would

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Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shedding
  noun
• nonshedding
  adjective
• shedable
  adjective
• sheddable
  adjective
• shedlike
  adjective
• unshedding
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• shedding
  present
• shed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shed
  simple
• sheds
  simple
• have shed
  perfect
• has shed
  perfect
• am shedding
  progressive
• are shedding
  progressive
• is shedding
  progressive
• have been shedding
  perfect progressive
• has been shedding
  perfect progressive

Past

• shed
  simple
• had shed
  perfect
• was shedding
  progressive
• were shedding
  progressive
• had been shedding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shed
  simple
• will have shed
  perfect
• will be shedding
  progressive
• will have been shedding
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of shed¹

First recorded in 1475–85; variant of shade

Origin of shed²

First recorded before 950; Middle English verb shed(d)en, shed, Old English scēadan, scādan; cognate with German scheiden “to separate, divide”

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Explanation

The small, simple building in your yard where you keep tools or gardening equipment is a shed. As a noun, shed means "hut," and probably comes from the word shade. But shed is also a verb meaning "to cast off," like when a snake sheds its skin. If your couch is covered in fur, it might be because your dog is shedding. You can shed non-physical things, like a bad habit. Does your cat shed? If so, maybe I should sleep in the shed since I'm allergic.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shed she'd sheds shedding

And in Tokyo the Nikkei 225 shed more than five percent as Kioxia also dived more than 11 percent and Advantest plunged 14.5 percent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

A carrier bag containing a hoodie, two sets of gloves and two face masks were later found in a shed at the Bridgend home of alleged gang member Kyle Long.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The Virginia Tech team has published findings that shed new light on how cancer develops and progresses.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

However, shares have shed nearly 65% of their value since.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

I remembered that it was in the shed next to Tomi’s stable that Uncle Manfred kept all his tools, all the harnesses, chains, ropes, everything.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

I let my mom lead and noted that the walking stick she’d been carrying for the last three years had been replaced by hiking poles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

She also had a close friend who traveled with her overseas for a vacation during the worst of the breakouts, and mentioned in passing that she’d never even noticed Montalbo’s acne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Her income covers her day-to-day expenses, but if she ever needs assisted living or a lot of in-home care, she’d have to draw on her savings.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

She pulled out her phone to show me some of her work, which included garments she’d fashioned out of Trader Joe’s tote bags.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

I think she’d have the same fire in her eye that Harriet Tubman does in the few pictures I’ve seen of her.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Noah Lederman sheds light on this unique culinary trend.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026

The family spent £15,000 installing new sprinkler systems and huge fans to cool the cattle in their sheds when they sheltered from the heat outside.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The growing house management sector sheds new light on the unpaid home and childcare labor that has depleted many women, pushing them to exit the workforce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

But it also sheds a fascinating light on the wider topic of literary afterlives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

She liberated buckets, shovels, and other sand toys from one of the sheds.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Plants are ruthless in shedding those that are damaged or diseased or that they can no longer maintain, for instance during dry weather.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Anyone who notices hair shedding, an itchy or red scalp or nail changes should mention it to their doctor rather than discontinue therapy."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Belgian physicist Prof Francis Halzen has won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work on an observatory that detects particles from space, shedding light on the distant universe.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

In Hollywood, a slowdown in film production has prompted Disney, Sony, Amazon and other studios to announce layoffs, with the industry shedding roughly 57,000 jobs in four years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

In Berlin, he knew, an ambitious liberal democracy with socialist leanings was shedding the husk of its past and guiding the birth of a new republic in the thirties.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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