Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A long irregular strip that is cut or torn off.
- noun A small amount; a particle.
- intransitive verb To cut or tear into shreds.
- intransitive verb To use a mechanical shredder to shred (paper documents, for example).
- intransitive verb To make a series of quick turns on a wave or snow, for example, when riding a board such as a surfboard or snowboard.
- intransitive verb To play fast solos accompanied by special techniques on the electric guitar.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To cut or tear into small pieces; also, to cut or tear pieces from.
- To tear into pieces, either small and irregular, or long in proportion to their width; tear into ragged bits, scraps, or strips: as, to
shred old linen. - To prune; lop; trim, as a pole or a hedge.
- noun A bit, scrap, fragment, rag, or strip made by cutting or tearing up something: used specifically of cloth or list for nailing up plants.
- noun Figuratively, a bit; a particle; also, something that is like a scrap or fragment in being worn or valueless, or in having a forlorn appearance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip.
- noun In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle.
- transitive verb To cut or tear into small pieces, particularly narrow and long pieces, as of cloth or leather.
- transitive verb obsolete To lop; to prune; to trim.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a
strip . - noun In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle; a very small amount.
- verb To
cut ortear into narrow and long pieces or strips. - verb obsolete, transitive To
lop ; toprune ; totrim . - verb snowboarding To ride
aggressively . - verb bodybuilding To drop fat and water weight before a competition.
- verb music To play very fast (especially guitar solos in rock and metal genres).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a small piece of cloth or paper
- verb tear into shreds
- noun a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Stick a few receipts on the inside, and then shred from the folded end first.
From The Tips Box: Coffee Spending Permanent Ink | Lifehacker Australia 2010
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As they wrap themselves in the Constitution they mean to shred, that is the self-evident Truth the Tea/GOP Party ultimately cannot face.
Harvey Wasserman: The Tea Party/GOP Would Hate Our Actual Founders Harvey Wasserman 2010
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As they wrap themselves in the Constitution they mean to shred, that is the self-evident Truth the Tea/GOP Party ultimately cannot face.
Harvey Wasserman: The Tea Party/GOP Would Hate Our Actual Founders Harvey Wasserman 2010
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I just bought the 30 day shred, which is just 20 minutes of intense craziness, and am having troubles fitting it in, but 4 minutes there will be no excuse now, damn!
- Little Elm 2010
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I just bought the 30 day shred, which is just 20 minutes of intense craziness, and am having troubles fitting it in, but 4 minutes there will be no excuse now, damn!
January 2010 2010
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I just bought the 30 day shred, which is just 20 minutes of intense craziness, and am having troubles fitting it in, but 4 minutes there will be no excuse now, damn!
Little Elm 2009
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Of course I couldn't recall a shred of what the sermon was preaching, other than a on-screen list of unpardonable sins
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Of course I couldn't recall a shred of what the sermon was preaching, other than a on-screen list of unpardonable sins
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I did not have a physical reaction; no, I would not give anyone in the mental health profession any shred of evidence (if you will pardon the terrible pun on shred, which is what happened to the body of the individual fish-being I consumed) to credit some psychological theory about my meditation experience.
CAMLAW : Complementary And Alternative Medicine Law Blog 2009
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His defence lawyer does not have to call a shred of evidence.
Toronto Sun 2009
dailyword commented on the word shred
We would do this to old medical records.
July 26, 2012