- (v.t.) A pair of shears; -- now always used in the plural, but formerly also in the singular. See Shears.
- (v.t.) An action, resulting from applied forces, which tends to cause two contiguous parts of a body to slide relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact; -- also called shearing stress, and tangential stress.
- (v.t.) Fig.: To deprive of property; to fleece.
- (v.i.) To become more or less completely divided, as a body under the action of forces, by the sliding of two contiguous parts relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact.
- (v.t.) To cut, clip or sever anything from with shears or a like instrument; as, to shear sheep; to shear cloth.
- (v.t.) To produce a change of shape in by a shear. See Shear, n., 4.
- (v.t.) To separate or sever with shears or a similar instrument; to cut off; to clip (something) from a surface; as, to shear a fleece.
- (v.i.) To deviate. See Sheer.
- (v.t.) To reap, as grain.
- (v.t.) A shearing; -- used in designating the age of sheep.
- (v.t.) A strain or change of shape, of an elastic body, consisting of an extension in one direction, an equal compression in a perpendicular direction, with an unchanged magnitude in the third direction.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). shear. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/shear/definitions/2061190 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "shear" http://smartdefine.org/shear/definitions/2061190 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, shear, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/shear/definitions/2061190>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "shear" 28 May 2011. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/shear/definitions/2061190> |