shred
Americannoun
-
shreds
plural
-
a piece cut or torn off, especially in a narrow strip.
-
a bit; scrap.
We haven't got a shred of evidence.
verb (used with object)
-
shreds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shredded,
past participle, past
-
shred,
past participle
-
shredding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
shreds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shredded,
past participle, past
-
shred,
past participle
-
shredding
present participle
-
to be cut up, torn, etc..
The blouse had shredded in the wash.
-
Slang. to snowboard, skateboard, surf, or ski in a highly skilled or showily spectacular manner.
I bought a new action camera that I can mount to my helmet—stay tuned for rad videos of me shredding when I hit the slopes next weekend.
-
Slang. to play guitar very quickly with specific picking techniques, as during an electric guitar solo.
Fans in the mosh pit go wild when Eddie shreds on lead guitar.
noun
-
a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off
-
a very small piece or amount; scrap
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shredsimple
-
shredssimple
-
have shredperfect
-
have shreddedperfect
-
has shredperfect
-
has shreddedperfect
-
am shreddingprogressive
-
are shreddingprogressive
-
is shreddingprogressive
-
have been shreddingperfect progressive
-
has been shreddingperfect progressive
Past
-
shreddedsimple
-
had shredperfect
-
had shreddedperfect
-
was shreddingprogressive
-
were shreddingprogressive
-
had been shreddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shred
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun shrede, schrede, shredd, Old English scrēade, scrēad “a cutting, a scrap”; cognate with Old Norse skrjōthr “worn-out book,” German Schrot “chips”; Middle English verb schreden “to chop, cut up,” Old English scrēadian “to pare, trim, prune (trees)”; akin to shroud; cf. screed
Vocabulary lists containing shred
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:
From the opening minute, Belgium absolutely dominated the Americans and squelched every shred of optimism the U.S. had generated among fans about their promising start to the tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
With a bag of rotisserie chicken already on hand, all you have to do is shred a few pieces before assembling and cooking your flautas.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
"The boxing world knows my character, and Saturday night proved that without a shred of doubt," Wardley said on Sky Sports.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
Then he does something worse: He allows his guilt to shred his integrity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
There was good in people—deep down, there was always a shred of good.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
I’ll occasionally pull out the bag to snack on a few shreds of meat in between meals.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
The departure of Ohtani for zero prospects, zero young stars, nobody … seriously damaged the remaining shreds of trust between their many loyal fans and the team.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
I swirled a half-cup around the crust and dolloped it with fat shreds of fresh mozzarella and torn basil leaves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But Arteta and his coaching staff gradually revived Arsenal's flagging spirits, firing them up so effectively that they tore Tottenham to shreds for the second time this season.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
Discarded shreds of unidentifiable stuffs were sewed patch on patch, including some black beaded velvets and bright calicos.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
In July, FDA traceback and epidemiological evidence linked shredded iceberg lettuce produced by Taylor Farms to a major Cyclospora outbreak.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The outbreak, which began in May, has affected tens of thousands of people who reported feeling ill after eating Taco Bell products with shredded lettuce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The salmonella outbreak overlaps with the nation’s largest-ever cyclospora outbreak, tied to shredded iceberg lettuce, that has sickened thousands of people over the past several weeks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Lawson marries frozen peas and shredded Little Gem lettuce in her version of petits pois à la française, or French-style peas.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
I tried to peel the paper wrapper off but it just shredded dead crappily.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
He told the conference: "We discovered what we think is a black hole merging with a massive companion star, shredding it into a disk that feeds the black hole. It's a rare and awe-inspiring phenomenon."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Meta shares have fallen some 25%, shredding around $500 billion in market value, since their heady apex of nearly $800 a share in August of last year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
I’m always on the hunt for cooking hacks, whether that’s shredding rotisserie chicken in a bag for easy weeknight meals or using a rice cooker for more than just rice.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
She had to remove all those staples before shredding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
And hearing it was like hearing the world's longest whistle blow, shrill, shredding his eardrums.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
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.
