I. ˈshāv verb
( shaved ; shaved or shav·en ˈshāvən ; shaving ; shaves )
Etymology: Middle English shaven, from Old English scafan; akin to Old High German skaban to scrape, Old Norse skafa to scrape, shave, Gothic skaban to shave, shear, Latin scabere to scratch, scrape, Russian skobel' adz, plane, Greek skaptein to dig — more at capon
transitive verb
1.
a. : to remove a thin layer from : pare , scrape
showed him how to trim, shave and properly soften a new and playable reed — Harold Sinclair
the rims are delicately shaved by steam power — Lois I. Woodville
b. : to cut off in thin layers or shreds : slice , sliver
a red-hot mass which a steel cutting machine was shaving, as though it were cheese — W.J.Locke
maple sugar … in a bricklike cake which can be readily grated or shaved — House Beautiful
specifically : to trim slightly (as the edge of a book page)
the paper of the MS has been shaved at the bottom — Sydney Race
c. : to reduce or make uniform the thickness of (a hide) by cutting away a portion from the flesh side — compare skive
d. : to cut off closely : crop , denude
a smooth shaven lawn
a frontier that has been shaved of all trees and shrubbery — Claire Sterling
2.
a. : to sever the hair from (the head or another part of the body) close to the roots
shaving … part of the scalp on aesthetic grounds or to denote a certain rank — A.G.Petitpierre
shave a patient for surgery
specifically : tonsure
shave the crown of a monk
b. : to remove beard from (the face or neck) with a razor
hire a ballplayer to shave himself on a TV commercial
c. : to cut off (hair or beard) close to the skin
shaves the hair off her legs
got him to shave off his beard
3.
a. chiefly dialect : fleece II 2
b. : to discount (a note) at an exorbitant rate — compare note shaver
c. : to subtract or make smaller : deduct , reduce
new procedures shave … minutes from the unloading process — New York Times
imports must be cut, armed forces shaved, food rations trimmed — Arthur Hepner
4. : to come close to or touch lightly in passing : clip , graze
set the buoy rocking … as she shaved it close — Llewellyn Howland
intransitive verb
1. : to cut off hair or beard close to the skin
shaves with an electric razor
borrowed a friend's room so that he could shave that morning — Russell Lord
2. : to proceed with difficulty : scrape
shaved through the gap with inches to spare — C.S.Forester
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle English shave, from Old English scafa; in other senses, from shave (I) ; Old English scafa akin to Old High German scaba scraper, plane, Icelandic skafa; derivative from the root of shave (I)
1. : shaver 3: as
a. : spokeshave
b. : drawknife
c. : a tool through which basketwork splits are drawn to remove the pith and make them uniform in width
2. : shaving
took real pride in cutting delicate shaves of cold beef — Katherine Mansfield
3.
a. : an act or process of shaving
felt fresh from his shave and shower — Hamilton Basso
b. : a result of shaving
got a shave and a haircut
4. : close shave
it was a shave but we made it
all-around sportsman — had gone after big game all over the world and had a good many narrow shaves — Max Beerbohm
5. archaic : swindle