verb / noun
shear
SHEER/ʃɪr/
Cutting by forces acting past one another.
The shearer uses clippers to shear the wool from a sheep.
Etymology
Old English sceran covered cutting with a sharp instrument, including shaving beards and clipping sheep. The selected meaning preserves that specific application: removing a covering by cutting it close.
In context
our beards are growing, and by every hair in them all of us implore thee to shave and shear us
More examples
- She trims the hedge with a pair of shears.
- The metal pin shears off when the load becomes too heavy.
- The bolt fails under shear rather than tension.
Forms
shear · shears · sheared · shorn · shearing
shearer noun — A person who cuts wool from sheep.