v.
Pronunciation: ' shir
Function: verb
Inflected Form: sheared ; sheared or shorn \ ' sho ̇ rn \ ; shear · ing
Etymology: Middle English sheren, from Old English scieran; akin to Old Norse skera to cut, Latin curtus mutilated, curtailed, Greek keirein to cut, shear, Sanskrit k ṛ n ā ti he injures
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1 a : to cut off the hair from <with crown shorn > b : to cut or clip (as hair or wool) from someone or something also : to cut something from < shear a lawn> c chiefly Scottish : to reap with a sickle d : to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument
2 : to cut with something sharp
3 : to deprive of something as if by cutting <lives shorn of any hope ― M. W. Browne>
4 a : to subject to a shear force b : to cause (as a rock mass) to move along the plane of contact
intransitive verb
1 : to cut through something with or as if with a sharp instrument
2 chiefly Scottish : to reap crops with a sickle
3 : to become divided under the action of a shear <the bolt may shear off>
– shear · er noun