I. ˈshred, esp South ˈsred, dial ˈswed noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English shrede, from Old English scrēade; akin to Middle Dutch schrode piece cut off, shred, Old High German scrōt piece cut off, Old Norse skrjōthr old worn-out book, Latin scrupus sharp stone, Old English sceran, scieran to shear — more at shear
1.
a. : a long narrow piece usually cut or torn off something : strip
a shred of ground
shreds of paper
b. : a very thin shaving or paring
shreds of bark
shreds of celery
2.
a. : a threadlike or stringy piece : wisp
whole wheat shreds
shreds of fog — Herman Melville
b. : a ragged scrap of cloth : tatter
shreds of canvas — John Hunt & Edmund Hillary
3. : a very small fragment or bit of something immaterial : particle , scrap
a successful novelist without a shred of common sense — H.A.Smith
4. : a small nodule-shaped piece of light-sensitive photographic emulsion produced by pressing the chilled emulsion through holes in a metal plate in a hydraulic press
II. verb
( shredded also shred ; shredded or shred ; shredding ; shreds )
Etymology: Middle English shreden, from Old English scrēadian; akin to Middle Dutch schroden to cut up, grind into coarse meal, Old High German scrōtan to cut, Old English scrēade, n., shred
transitive verb
1. archaic
a. : to cut or lop (as a branch, bodily part, or lock of hair)
scythe blades which shred off the unwary passenger's limb — Sir Walter Scott
b. : prune
2. : to cut or tear into shreds : rip up
shredded streamers hung … from the roof — D.C.Loughlin
sharks … shredded the great fish — J.D.Adams
specifically : to cut (food) into shreds
sugarcane shredded by machine
a dish of shredded cabbage
a frosting with shredded coconut
3. : to press and break up (photographic emulsion) into shreds
the emulsion … is shredded and thoroughly washed to remove water-soluble salts — Complete Photographer
intransitive verb
: to come apart in or break up into shreds
one of the yellow tearoses had shredded — Stephen Longstreet
•
- shred out