shred

American  

[shred] / ʃrɛd /

noun

1. a piece cut or torn off, especially in a narrow strip.

2. a bit; scrap.

   We haven't got a shred of evidence.

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verb (used with object)

shredded, shred, shredding

1. to cut or tear into small pieces, especially small strips; reduce to shreds.

   I shred my credit card statement every month.

verb (used without object)

shredded, shred, shredding

1. to be cut up, torn, etc..

   The blouse had shredded in the wash.

2. 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.

3. 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.

shred British  

/ ʃrɛd /

noun

1. a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off

2. a very small piece or amount; scrap

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verb

1. (tr) to tear or cut into shreds

Other Word Forms

• shredder noun
• shredless adjective
• shredlike adjective
• unshredded adjective

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; screed

Example Sentences

This has been the toughest newspaper court battle yet, and if the key allegations in the case are true, they will shred the reputation of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

From BBC

It was an off-speed pitch first derived from the forkball that hadn’t been popular since the age of the Walkman—and its reputation for shredding elbows had given it a stigma.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's really sad, because the integrity of the markets is being torn to shreds."

From Barron's

The opprobrium that ensued in the course of a shamelessly one-sided trial shredded their reputations, cost them their jobs and led to an incurable banishment from public life.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the very first game of the tournament, TCU beat Ohio State and shredded their perfect brackets.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fragment
• iota
• modicum
• ounce
• sliver
• smidgen
• snippet
• speck
• whit