shred

views updated May 18 2018

shred / shred/ • n. (usu. shreds) a strip of some material, such as paper, cloth, or food, that has been torn, cut, or scraped from something larger: her beautiful dress was torn to shreds | fig. my reputation will be in shreds. ∎  a very small amount: there was not a shred of evidence that linked him to the fire.• v. (shredded, shredding) [tr.] tear or cut into shreds: [as adj.] (shredded) shredded cabbage.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

shred

views updated May 29 2018

shred fragment cut or broken off OE.; fragment of textile material, also fig. XIV OE. *sċrēad (pl. sċrēada), sċrēade, corr. to OS. skrōd, MLG. schrōt, schrāt, cut off piece, OHG. scrōt (G. schrot); f. WGmc. *skraud- *skreud- *skrüd- cut.
So shred vb. †pare, trim OE.; cut into small strips or slices XIV. OE. sċrēadian.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

shred

views updated May 14 2018

shred In forestry, to remove the branches from a standard tree.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

shred

views updated Jun 11 2018

shred In forestry, to remove the branches from a standard tree.

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY

shred

views updated Jun 27 2018

shred To slice a food such as cheese or raw vegetables into very fine pieces, which often curl as they are cut.

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition DAVID A. BENDER

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