SHEAR


Meaning of SHEAR in English

v. & n.

--v. (past sheared, archaic except Austral. & NZ shore; past part. shorn or sheared)

1. tr. cut with scissors or shears etc.

2 tr. remove or take off by cutting.

3 tr. clip the wool off (a sheep etc.).

4 tr. (foll. by of) a strip bare. b deprive.

5 tr. & intr. (often foll. by off) distort or be distorted, or break, from a structural strain.

--n.

1. Mech. & Geol. a strain produced by pressure in the structure of a substance, when its layers are laterally shifted in relation to each other.

2 (in pl.) (also pair of shears sing.) a large clipping or cutting instrument shaped like scissors for use in gardens etc.

Derivatives:

shearer n.

Etymology: OE sceran f. Gmc

Oxford English vocab.      Оксфордский английский словарь.