shear /shēr/

1. To cut, or clip, esp with shears
2. To strip, fleece (also figurative)
3. To cut superfluous nap from
4. To achieve or make by cutting
5. To tonsure
6. To reap with a sickle (Scot)
7. To subject to a shear (engineering and physics)

1. To separate
2. To cut
3. To penetrate
4. To reap with a sickle (Scot)

1. A shearing or clipping
2. A strain, stress, or deformation in which parallel planes remain parallel, but move parallel to themselves (engineering and physics)

shearˈer noun

1. A person who shears sheep
2. A reaper (Scot)

shearˈing noun

shearˈling noun

1. A sheep that has been shorn for the first time
2. The fleece of such a sheep, usu of inferior quality

shears plural noun

1. Orig scissors (also Scot)
2. Now a larger pair of clippers, or any scissorlike cutting instrument, with a pivot or spring
3. A hoisting apparatus (see sheers under sheer²)

shear force noun

A force that tends to cause sliding of adjacent layers relative to each other, in a material

shearˈ-hog noun

A shearling

shearˈ-hulk, shearˈleg see under sheer²

shearing shed noun (Aust and NZ)

A building in which sheep are shorn, esp one specially equipped with several power-driven shears, shearing platforms and wool-baling machines

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