shred
/ʃɹɛd/ noun, verb, adjective
Forms shreds shredding shredded shreddest shreddedst shreddeth
- noun A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount. “There isn’t a shred of evidence to support his claims.”
- noun A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
- noun (by extension) A thin strand or wisp, as of a cloud, mist, etc.
- noun (cooking) A thin strip of fruit peel, a vegetable, etc., cut so that it curls.
- noun (archaic) A piece of gold or silver lace or thread.
- noun (rare) A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”).
- noun (obsolete) A tailor.
- verb To cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips.
- verb To destroy (a document) by cutting or tearing into strips or small pieces that cannot easily be read, especially using a shredder.
- verb (cooking) To cut (fruit peel, a vegetable, etc.) into thin strips that curl.
- verb To separate (something) into small portions.
- verb To reduce (something) by a large percentage; to slash.
- verb (music) Chiefly in rock and heavy metal: to play (a musical instrument (especially a guitar) or a piece of music) very fast and in a way that requires technical skill.
- verb (snowboarding, surfing) To cut through (snow, water, etc.) swiftly with one's snowboard, surfboard, etc.; (by extension) to move or ride along (a road, track, etc.) aggressively and rapidly.
- verb (originally US) To convincingly defeat (someone); to thrash, to trounce.
- adjective Synonym of shredded (“cut or torn into narrow strips or small pieces”).
Synonyms
ounce ace atom thought atomy aught bissel continental bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting scintilla whit iota tittle smidgen smidgeon smidgin smidge rag tag
Etymology
From Middle English shrede, shred (“fragment, piece, scrap; piece cut off from something; strip of material; ornamental strip hanging from the edge of a garment; thread; band or thread woven in a garment; element, streak; plant (?)”) [and other forms], from Late Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“piece cut off from something; a paring; a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a crack; a cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). Doublet of escrow.
The verb is derived from Middle English shreden, shred (“to chop, cut up; to cut, hack; to wound with a knife; to cut off a part of (something); to prune, trim”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrēadian (“to cut up, shred; to cut off; to prune, trim”), from Proto-West Germanic *skraudōn, related to Proto-West Germanic *skraudan (“to cut up; to shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudaną (“to cut up; to shred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”).
The adjective is derived from the past participle form of the verb.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip. "Shreds of tanned leather." Bacon.
- noun In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle. Shak.
- verb To cut or tear into small pieces, particularly narrow and long pieces, as of cloth or leather. Chaucer.
- verb To lop; to prune; to trim. [Obs.]
Etymology [OE. shrede, schrede, AS. screáde; akin to OD. schroode, G. schrot a piece cut off, Icel. skrjothr a shred, and to E. shroud. Cf. Screed, Scroll, Scrutiny.]
Etymology [OE. shreden, schreden, AS. screádian; akin to OD. schrooden, OHG. scr, G. schroten. See Shred, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shred”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details