shirr
Americanverb (used with object)
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to draw up or gather (cloth or the like) on three or more parallel threads.
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to bake (eggs removed from the shell) in a shallow dish or in individual dishes.
noun
verb
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to gather (fabric) into two or more parallel rows to decorate a dress, blouse, etc, often using elastic thread
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(tr) to bake (eggs) out of their shells
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shirrsimple
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shirrssimple
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have shirredperfect
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has shirredperfect
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am shirringprogressive
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are shirringprogressive
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is shirringprogressive
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have been shirringperfect progressive
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has been shirringperfect progressive
Past
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shirredsimple
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had shirredperfect
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was shirringprogressive
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were shirringprogressive
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had been shirringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shirr
First recorded in 1840–50; origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Truth be told, it’s probably a combination of all these things that sent me on my quest to shirr up my breakfast routine.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2018
The way they shirr that calico arrangement around their back door, has long been my admiration.”
From Patty's Summer Days by Wells, Carolyn
It is too nestle by the pin grove shirr, all agree to the counting ate ate pall.
From Geography and Plays by Stein, Gertrude
Shirred Eggs.—To shirr an egg break it into a saucer or any small dish that has been well greased.
From Health on the Farm A Manual of Rural Sanitation and Hygiene by Harris, H. F. (Henry Fauntleroy)
The veil was secured to the hood by a simple shirr string of elastic.
From The Motor Girls by Penrose, Margaret
Tea was to be bought there, and sugar, tobacco, and pickles, jam, nails, boots, hats, flannel shirrs, and mole-skin trowsers.
From Harry Heathcote of Gangoil by Trollope, Anthony
Chef Tim Brown regularly updates the menu with plenty of boat-fresh seafood and inspired small plates like shirred duck egg topped with duck confit, caramelized ramps and fresh figs.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2019
Her white maxidress by Chloé incorporated subtle but deft detailing such as a shirred turtleneck, cape sleeves and colorful stones dotting the panel softly framing her torso.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2019
Not only did I order the shirred eggs for breakfast both mornings, but I loved them so much I made them again for myself when I returned home.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2018
Ms. Pissarro wore an Isabel Marant black shirred cocktail dress; Mr. Rivkin was in Ralph Lauren.
From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2017
The paper birds shuffled and shirred and gathered.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
There was a lot of shirring and Breton stripes.
From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
I pulled out a red dress with side shirring and lots of stretch.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2013
Not to mention cap sleeves, shirring, scalloped edges and a lot of stuff a romantic six-year-old would favor, including aprons and petticoats.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fashion's permutations and combinations have fascinated the frivolous and the furrow-browed; the shirring of a sleeve or the fall of a hemline has borne the burden of some heavy-duty thinking.
From Time Magazine Archive
Long elbow cuffs, and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown silk ribbon.
From Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908 by Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
