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.

  • 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.
  • noun A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip.
  • noun In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle.

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 or tear into narrow and long pieces or strips.
  • verb obsolete, transitive To lop; to prune; to trim.
  • 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

[Middle English shrede, from Old English scrēade.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English screade (from which also screed), cognate with German Schrot ("small shot") and Old Norse skrydda ("shrivelled skin").

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Examples

Comments

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  • We would do this to old medical records.

    July 26, 2012