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shred definition

shred (s̸hred)

noun

  1. a long, narrow strip or piece made by cutting or tearing
  2. a very small piece or amount; fragment; particle not a shred of evidence

Etymology: ME schrede < OE screade, akin to Ger & MDu schrot < IE *(s)kreu(t)- (> L scrotum, scrotum) < base *(s)ker-, to cut > shear, harvest

transitive verb shredded shred′·ded or shred, shredding shred′·ding

to cut or tear into shreds

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

shred Synonyms

shred

n.

fragment, piece, tatter; see bit 1, rag.


shred

v.

tear, strip, cut into small pieces, reduce to tatters, tear into rags, cut into slivers, destroy.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

shred Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • dignity: Only a couple in the cast emerge with any shreds of dignity.

Adjective modifier

  • slight: What is absent is the slightest shred of belief that what is being said or being written or being thought is the Truth.

Modifies a noun

  • everything: Lone species, must be kept on its own or it will shred everything in sight.

Preposition: of

  • decency: Pregnant with his child, when Borias died, the last shred of decency in Xena seemed to die too.
shred usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

shred quotes

It is defiantöthe desperate act of men too profoundly convinced of the rottenness of our civilization to want to save a shred of its respectability.

-Read, Sir Herbert Edward

shred quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"shred." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/shred>

APA Style

shred. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/shred

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