transitive verb sheared, sheared or shorn, shearing shear′·ing

1. to cut with shears or a similar sharp-edged instrument
2. 1. to remove (the hair, wool, etc.) by cutting or clipping
   2. to cut or clip the hair, wool, etc. from
3. to tear or wrench (off) by shearing stress
4. to move through as if cutting
5. to strip or divest (someone) of a power, right, etc.
6. Dialectal to reap with a sickle

Etymology: ME scheren < OE scieran, akin to Ger scheren < IE base *(s)ker-, to cut > harvest

intransitive verb

1. 1. to use a cutting tool, as shears, in trimming or cutting wool, shrubbery, metal, etc.
   2. Dialectal to use a sickle in reaping
2. to come apart or break under the action of shearing stress
3. to move by or as if by cutting

noun

1. 1. Rare shears
   2. a single blade of a pair of shears
2. a machine used in cutting metal, esp. sheet metal
3. the action, process, or result of shearing; specif., the shearing of wool from an animal: used in designating a sheep's age a sheep of three shears
4. 1. shearing stress
   2. any strain or distortion in shape resulting from the action of shearing stress

Etymology: ME schere < OE scear