<B>shear, </B>verb, <B>sheared</B> or (Archaic) <B>shore,</B> <B>sheared</B> or <B>shorn,</B> <B>shearing,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cut with shears or scissors, especially in order to remove (wool or fleece). <BR> <I>Ex. to shear wool from sheep.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to cut the wool or fleece from. <BR> <I>Ex. The farmer sheared his sheep.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to cut close; cut off; cut. <BR> <I>Ex. The storm drove the ship forward shearing its anchor line and setting it adrift.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to break by a force causing two parts or pieces to slide on each other in opposite directions. <BR> <I>Ex. Too much pressure on the handles of the scissors sheared off the rivet holding the blades together.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) to strip or deprive as if by cutting. <BR> <I>Ex. The assembly had been shorn of its legislative powers.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Dialect.) to reap with a sickle. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to break by shearing force. <BR> <I>Ex. Several bolts sheared, causing the floor to sag dangerously.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Dialect.) to use a sickle on crops. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) to cut through something with the aid of a weapon. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act or process of shearing. <DD><B> 2. </B>that which is taken off by shearing. <DD><B> 3. </B>one blade of a pair of shears. <DD><B> 4. </B>a pair of shears. <DD><B> 5. </B>any one of various machines for cutting metal, especially sheet metal. <DD><B> 6a. </B>a force causing two parts or pieces to slide on each other in opposite directions. <DD><B> b. </B>the strain or deformation resulting from this; shearing stress. noun <B>shearer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shearboom">
<B>shear boom,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in lumbering) a boom fixed to guide floating logs in the desired direction. </DL>
<A NAME="sheared">
<B>sheared, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that has undergone shearing; shorn. <DD><B> 2. </B>with the fur trimmed to make it even or prevent curling. <BR> <I>Ex. sheared beaver, sheared raccoon.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shearflocks">
<B>shear flocks,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the part of the nap which is cut from cloth while it is being sheared. </DL>
<A NAME="shearing">
<B>shearing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of a person or thing that shears. <DD><B> 2. </B>an instance of shearing. <BR><I>expr. <B>shearings,</B> </I>something cut off with shears or some other sharp instrument. <BR> <I>Ex. Put the shearings of scarlet cloth upon the coals (G. Smith).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shearingplane">
<B>shearing plane,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) the plane along which rupture from shearing stress takes place in rocks. </DL>
<A NAME="shearingstress">
<B>shearing stress,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the stress in a body caused by shear. </DL>
<A NAME="shearlegs">
<B>shear legs,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hoist for heavy weights; shears. </DL>
<A NAME="shearling">
<B>shearling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a sheep that has been shorn once. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fleece of such a sheep. </DL>
<A NAME="shearman">
<B>shearman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who shears cloth. </DL>
<A NAME="shearpin">
<B>shear pin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pin designed to be sheared off in order to disconnect the moving parts of a machine before they are damaged. </DL>
<B>shears, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>large scissors. <BR> <I>Ex. barber's shears.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any cutting instrument resembling scissors. <BR> <I>Ex. grass shears, tin shears.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>an apparatus for hoisting heavy weights, consisting of two or more poles fastened together at the top to support a block and tackle. </DL>
<A NAME="shearwater">
<B>shearwater, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a genus of sea birds of the same family as the petrels, with long bills and long, slender wings which appear to shear or cleave the water. </DL>
<A NAME="shearwave">
<B>shear wave,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wave in an elastic medium which causes movement of the medium but no change in its volume. A secondary wave is a shear wave. </DL>
<A NAME="shearzone">
<B>shear zone,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) a belt of rock crushed and metamorphosed by compression. <BR> <I>Ex. Along shear zones massive rocks become schists.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sheatfish">
<B>sheatfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very large European catfish sometimes weighing as much as 400 pounds. </DL>
<A NAME="sheath">
<B>sheath, </B>noun, pl. <B>sheaths,</B> verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a case or covering for the blade of a sword, dagger, or knife. <BR> <I>Ex. He drew his sword from its sheath.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any similar covering, especially on an animal or plant: <DD><B> a. </B>(Botany.) the part of an organ rolled around a stem or other body to form a tube. <BR> <I>Ex. In the grasses, the blade arises, not from a petiole, but from a sheath (Fred W. Emerson).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Zoology.) the elytron of a beetle. <DD><B> 3. </B>a narrow, tight-fitting dress with straight lines. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>=sheathe.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="sheathbill">
<B>sheathbill, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> either of two white, pigeonlike sea birds related to the plovers, with a horny case partly covering the bill. It lives in cold regions of the Southern Hemisphere. </DL>
<A NAME="sheathe">
<B>sheathe, </B>transitive verb, <B>sheathed,</B> <B>sheathing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to put (a sword or other instrument or tool) into a sheath or scabbard. <BR> <I>Ex. The sabre is sheathed and the battle is o'er (Byron). (Figurative.) Not I, till I have sheathed my rapier in his bosom (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to enclose in a case or covering. <BR> <I>Ex. a mummy sheathed in linen, doors sheathed in metal. He is a motorboat fancier, and his latest vessel ... is sheathed in teak (New Yorker).</I> (SYN) encase. <DD><B> 3. </B>to retract (claws). </DL>
<A NAME="sheather">
<B>sheather, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who sheathes. </DL>
<A NAME="sheathing">
<B>sheathing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a casing; covering. The first covering of boards on a house, nailed to the rafters, is sheathing. The thin protective covering of copper on the hull of a vessel is sheathing. <DD><B> 2. </B>the material used for either of these, especially boards such as plywood. <DD><B> 3. </B>the act of putting on or into a sheath. </DL>
<A NAME="sheathknife">
<B>sheath knife,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a knife carried in a sheath. </DL>
<A NAME="sheathwinged">
<B>sheath-winged, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having the wings sheathed in elytra, as a beetle. </DL>
<A NAME="sheatree">
<B>shea tree,</B> <B>=shea.</B></DL>
<A NAME="sheave">
<B>sheave</B> (1), transitive verb, <B>sheaved,</B> <B>sheaving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to gather and tie into a sheaf or sheaves. <BR> <I>Ex. to sheave wheat.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sheave">
<B>sheave</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a wheel with a grooved rim, such as the wheel of a pulley. </DL>
<A NAME="sheaves">
<B>sheaves, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>plural of <B>sheaf.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>plural of <B>sheave</B> (2). </DL>
<A NAME="sheba">
<B>Sheba, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> <B>Queen of,</B> a queen who visited Solomon to learn of his great wisdom (in the Bible, I Kings 10:1-13). </DL>
<A NAME="shebalsam">
<B>she-balsam, </B>noun. <B>=Fraser fir.</B></DL>
<A NAME="shebang">
<B>shebang, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an outfit; concern. <BR> <I>Ex. A single skilled button pusher can run the whole shebang (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an affair; event. <BR> <I>Ex. They went to a big shebang last night and slept late this morning.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shebat">
<B>Shebat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the fifth month of the Jewish civil year, and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year, beginning in January. </DL>
<A NAME="shebeen">
<B>shebeen, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> chiefly in Ireland and Scotland: <DD><I>noun </I> a place where alcoholic liquor is sold without a license. <BR> <I>Ex. But after winning a big fight he goes to a shebeen ... to celebrate (Cape Times).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to operate a shebeen. </DL>
<A NAME="shechita">
<B>shechita</B> or <B>shechitah, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the Jewish method of slaughtering animals according to rabbinical law. Also, <B>shehita,</B> <B>shehitah.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shed">
<B>shed</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>shedded,</B> <B>shedding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a building used for shelter or storage of goods or vehicles, usually having only one story and often open at the front or sides. <BR> <I>Ex. a wagon shed, a tool shed, a train shed.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a hut; cottage. <BR> <I>Ex. To shame the meanness of his humble shed (Oliver Goldsmith).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>any covering, such as the lair of an animal. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to place in a shed. <BR> <I>Ex. to shed sheep, to shed cotton bolls.</I> adj. <B>shedlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shed">
<B>shed</B> (2), noun, <B>shed,</B> <B>shedding,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to pour out; cause to flow; let fall. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl shed tears. A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterward (Theodore Roosevelt).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to throw off; cast off; let drop or fall. <BR> <I>Ex. The umbrella sheds water. The snake sheds its skin. The duke shed his coat (Mark Twain).</I> (SYN) molt, discard. <DD><B> 3. </B>to scatter abroad; give forth. <BR> <I>Ex. The sun sheds light. Flowers shed perfume. (Figurative.) They [the reports] were aimed at shedding light on the need for additional power (New York Times).</I> (SYN) emit, diffuse. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to get rid of. <BR> <I>Ex. to shed one's worries, to shed inhibitions. "I'm going to lose ten pounds," she said, causing Studs to think, pleased, that she could shed that weight without hurting her figure (James T. Farrell).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Informal.) to divorce. <BR> <I>Ex. She [had] shed a nice, well-heeled Yale man a few years before on the ambiguous grounds of mental cruelty (Harper's).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to throw off a covering, hair, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. That snake has just shed. The cats are shedding.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to drop or fall, as leaves or grain from the ear. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something that is or has been shed. <DD><B> 2. </B>a watershed or ridge of high ground. </DL>
<A NAME="shed">
<B>shed</B> (3), noun, pl. <B>shedim.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in Jewish folklore) an evil spirit or demon. </DL>
