shear
/ʃɪr/
verb
- To cut the wool off a sheep or other animal.
- The shearer can shear over 200 sheep in a single day.
- Every spring, the farmer shears his sheep to collect the wool.
- She learned how to shear a sheep during her summer job on the ranch.
- To cut or break something off, especially with a sharp, slicing motion.
- The strong wind sheared the branches off the old oak tree.
- The mechanic had to shear the rusted bolt to remove it.
- A piece of metal sheared off the machine and flew across the room.
Antonyms
noun
- A cutting tool consisting of two blades, like large scissors, used for cutting cloth, metal, or other materials.
- The tailor used a pair of shears to cut the fabric smoothly.
- Garden shears are perfect for trimming hedges and bushes.
- He sharpened the shears before cutting the sheet metal.
- A type of stress or force that causes layers of a material to slide past each other.
- Engineers must account for shear when designing bridges and buildings.
- The earthquake created a shear that fractured the rock deep underground.
- Shear forces can cause a material to fail if it is not strong enough.
Synonyms