I. shred 1 /ʃred/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: screade ]
1 . [countable] a small thin piece that is torn or cut roughly from something
shred of
a shred of paper
tear/rip something to shreds
The clothes were ripped to shreds and covered in blood.
2 . tear/rip something to shreds to criticize something very severely:
Within a year, other researchers had torn the theory to shreds.
3 . in shreds
a) torn in many places:
Uncle Earl was exhausted and his shirt hung in shreds.
b) completely ruined:
His ambitious plan was in shreds.
If Myra gossips about this, my reputation will be in shreds.
4 . shred of something a very small amount of something:
There’s not a shred of doubt (=no doubt at all) in my mind that we will win.
He does not have a shred of evidence (=he has no evidence at all) to prove his claim.
the last shred of hope
II. shred 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle shredded , present participle shredding ) [transitive]
1 . to cut or tear something into small thin pieces:
Coleslaw is made with shredded cabbage.
2 . to put a document into a shredder:
Carlson was collecting messages, reading them, then shredding them.
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THESAURUS
▪ tear to damage paper or cloth by pulling it too hard, or letting it touch something sharp:
She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper.
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I tore a hole in my jacket, climbing over the fence.
▪ rip to tear something quickly or violently:
Beth excitedly ripped open the package.
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Stop pulling my dress! You’ll rip it!
▪ split to tear your trousers or shirt when you put them on, because they are too tight for you:
He bent down and split his trousers.
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Oh no, now I’ve split my shirt.
▪ ladder British English if a woman ladders her ↑ tights or STOCKINGS , she tears them so that a long thin line appears in them:
Damn! I’ve laddered my tights!
▪ snag to catch a piece of clothing on something rough or sharp so that it tears slightly:
I snagged my shirt on a nail.
▪ shred to deliberately destroy letters, documents etc by cutting them into thin pieces, often by using a special machine:
In order to prevent fraud, it’s best to shred your bank statements.
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I went through all my papers shredding things I didn’t need.
▪ frayed torn a little along the edges – used about clothes, carpets etc that have been used a lot:
He was wearing an old pair of frayed jeans.
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The rug was a little frayed around the edges.
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The jacket was a little frayed at the cuffs.