sheet

¹ American  

[sheet] / ʃit /

noun

1. a large rectangular piece of cotton, linen, or other material used as an article of bedding, commonly spread in pairs so that one is immediately above and the other immediately below the sleeper.

2. a broad, relatively thin, surface, layer, or covering.

3. a relatively thin, usually rectangular form, piece, plate, or slab, as of photographic film, glass, metal, etc.

4. material, as metal or glass, in the form of broad, relatively thin pieces.

5. a sail, as on a ship or boat.

6. a rectangular piece of paper or parchment, especially one on which to write.

7. a newspaper or periodical.

8. Printing and Bookbinding. a large, rectangular piece of printing paper, especially one for printing a complete signature.

9. Philately. the impression from a plate or the like on a single sheet of paper before any division of the paper into individual stamps.

10. an extent, stretch, or expanse, as of fire or water.

    sheets of flame.

11. a thin, flat piece of metal or a very shallow pan on which to place food while baking.

12. Geology. a more or less horizontal mass of rock, especially volcanic rock intruded between strata or poured out over a surface.

13. Mathematics.

    1. one of the separate pieces making up a geometrical surface.

       a hyperboloid of two sheets.

    2. one of the planes or pieces of planes making up a Riemann surface.

14. Crystallography. a type of crystal structure, as in mica, in which certain atoms unite strongly in two dimensions to form a layer that is weakly joined to others.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a sheet or sheets.

2. to wrap in a sheet.

3. to cover with a sheet or layer of something.

sheet ² American  

[sheet] / ʃit /

noun

1. Nautical.

   1. a rope or chain for extending the clews of a square sail along a yard.

   2. a rope for trimming a fore-and-aft sail.

   3. a rope or chain for extending the lee clew of a course.

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verb (used with object)

1. Nautical. to trim, extend, or secure by means of a sheet or sheets.

idioms

1. three sheets in / to the wind, intoxicated.

sheet ¹ British  

/ ʃiːt /

noun

1. a large rectangular piece of cotton, linen, etc, generally one of a pair used as inner bedclothes

2. 1. a thin piece of a substance such as paper, glass, or metal, usually rectangular in form

   2. ( as modifier )

      sheet iron

3. a broad continuous surface; expanse or stretch

   a sheet of rain

4. a newspaper, esp a tabloid

5. a piece of printed paper to be folded into a section for a book

6. a page of stamps, usually of one denomination and already perforated

7. any thin tabular mass of rock covering a large area

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with, cover, or wrap in a sheet

2. (intr) (of rain, snow, etc) to fall heavily

sheet ² British  

/ ʃiːt /

noun

1. nautical a line or rope for controlling the position of a sail relative to the wind

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sheet More Idioms  

1. see three sheets to the wind; white as a sheet.

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Other Word Forms

• sheetless
  adjective
• sheetlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sheet¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English shete, shet(te) “length of cloth, piece of linen,” Old English scīte, scēte, scȳte, scīete “garment, cloth, napkin”

Origin of sheet²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English shete, seate, shortening of Old English scēatlīne “sheet of a sail,” equivalent to scēat(a) “corner, angle, lower corner of a sail” + līne “rope”; cognate with Low German schote; see also sheet ¹, line ¹

Explanation

A sheet is a large, wide amount of something flat, like a sheet of metal or a sheet of paper. When it goes on your bed, a sheet is a similar expanse of fabric. The sheets on your bed cover your mattress and lie beneath your blanket or comforter, and the huge windows in your imaginary dream house would require enormous sheets of glass. Sheet music consists of musical notation written on sheets of paper, and a sheet of rain comes down so hard it looks like a solid surface. If it rained overnight and the water froze on the ground, you might say, "Careful, it's a sheet of ice outside!"

Example Sentences

If your brioche is very fresh, spread the torn bread chunks onto another baking sheet and toast for 5 to 8 minutes, just until lightly dried at the edges.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

I think it’s safe to say that a math formula written on a sheet of paper is not a conscious entity—just as a croissant recipe is not an edible pastry.

From Slate • May 25, 2026

Breathtakingly simple, it consists of a polyester sheet that is slid onto an arch-shaped aluminum pole, the ends of which are then buried in the sand.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

He has also spoken about shrinking the Fed’s $6.7 trillion balance sheet, which he has said has grown far too large.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

It had fallen open, a sheet of paper beside it that had dropped out with it.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• blanket
• coat
• foil
• layer
• leaf
• piece
• plate
• slab
• surface