/ ʃɪə(r); NAmE ʃɪr/ verb ( sheared , shorn / ʃɔːn; NAmE ʃɔːrn/ or sheared )
1.
[ vn ] to cut the wool off a sheep :
It was time for the sheep to be shorn.
sheep shearing
2.
[ vn ] ( formal ) to cut off sb's hair :
shorn hair
3.
shear (sth) (off) ( technical ) ( especially of metal ) to break under pressure; to cut through sth and make it break :
[ v ]
The bolts holding the wheel in place sheared off.
[also vn ]
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PHRASAL VERBS
- be shorn of sth
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English sceran (originally in the sense cut through with a weapon ), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German scheren , from a base meaning divide, shear, shave.