English Explanatory Dictionary

shred

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.
  2. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
  3. A thin strand or wisp, as of a cloud, mist, etc.
  4. A thin strip of fruit peel, a vegetable, etc., cut so that it curls.
  5. A piece of gold or silver lace or thread.
  6. A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”).
  7. A tailor.
verb
  1. To cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips.
  2. To destroy (a document) by cutting or tearing into strips or small pieces that cannot easily be read, especially using a shredder.
  3. To cut (fruit peel, a vegetable, etc.) into thin strips that curl.
  4. To separate (something) into small portions.
  5. To reduce (something) by a large percentage; to slash.
  6. Chiefly in rock and heavy metal: to play (a musical instrument (especially a guitar) or a piece of music) very fast and in a way that requires technical skill.
  7. To cut through (snow, water, etc.) swiftly with one's snowboard, surfboard, etc.; (by extension) to move or ride along (a road, track, etc.) aggressively and rapidly.
  8. To convincingly defeat (someone); to thrash, to trounce.
  9. To cut or sever (something) into two parts.
  10. To chop or cut (something) into pieces.
  11. To cut, lop, or strip (branches, etc.) off; also, to cut (a piece) from something.
  12. To prune or trim (a tree, a vineyard, etc.).
adj
  1. Synonym of shredded (“cut or torn into narrow strips or small pieces”).

Pronunciation

/ʃɹɛd/ En-au-shred.ogg

Word forms

shred shreds shredding shredded no-table-tags glossary shreddest shreddedst shreddeth more shred most shred

Etymology

From Middle English shrede, shred (“fragment, piece, scrap; piece cut off from something; strip of material; ornamental strip hanging from the edge of a garment; thread; band or thread woven in a garment; element, streak; plant (?)”) [and other forms], from Late Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“piece cut off from something; a paring; a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a crack; a cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). Doublet of escrow.

Synonyms

ounce ace atom atomy aught bissel bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting fleck glimmer hint flip flyspeck grain halfpennyworth inch iota jot lick mite modicum molecule morceau morsel mote ooch particle pennyworth piece pinch relish scantling semblance scent scintilla scooch scrap scruple shred skerrick skoosh skosh sliver smattering smidge smidgen smidget smidgy smitch smithereen

Related words

screed

Derived words

shreddies shreddy shredless shredlet shredlike shred pie tear to shreds nerve-shredding nonshredding shreddable shredded shredder shredding

Translations

Bulgarian: парцалче Catalan: tirella Chinese Mandarin: 碎布條 /碎布条 Czech: útržek Czech: cár Dutch: flard Finnish: kaistale Finnish: suikale French: lambeau Galician: lambiza Galician: lambizo German: Lumpen Ancient Greek: σπάραγμα Hebrew: גֶּזֶר Latin: segmen Māori: ngaku Persian: کراد Polish: strzęp Russian: клочо́к Russian: лоску́т Spanish: triza Spanish: tira Spanish: brizna Spanish: brinza Swedish: remsa
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