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Synonyms

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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to tear or cut into shreds

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

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

"America"

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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.

A former accountant from Paisley nicknamed Fred the Shred, Goodwin was headhunted to RBS to help build the biggest bank in the world.

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2025

Shred chicken into bite sized pieces, discarding skin and bones.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2025

Shred any you do receive before tossing them.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2022

But any chance she gets, Kris Nordberg, 65, also known as Sister Shred, will do exactly that, in spite of a rare vascular condition that has rendered her legally blind.

From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2022

I kicked my board into a spin like the dude in Tony Hawk: Shred.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

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.