Past tense of shear
regular verb
The past tense of shear is sheared or shore. The past participle is shorn or sheared.
Forms of shear
| Base form (V1) | shear /ʃɪə/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | sheared /ˈʃiɹd/ shore /ʃɔː/ |
| Past participle (V3) | shorn /ʃɔːn/ sheared /ˈʃiɹd/ |
| Present participle | shearing |
| Third person singular | shears /ʃɪə(ɹ)z/ |
Sheared and shore in a sentence
- The total along-the-runway wind component sheared from an 8-knot headwind to about a 56-knot tailwind over a 44-second period.1985 March 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.3 Airplane Takeoff Performance”, in Aircraft Accident Report: United Airlines...
- Shells have sheared off several main guns and virtually disarmed the vessel.2019 September 18, Drachinifel, 26:33 from the start, in Battle of Tsushima - When the 2nd Pacific Squadron thought it couldn't get any…. From the entry disarm
- So I just hooked off by my own, and got 'em sheared.1916 January, mogen Clark, “Michael Comes into His Own”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 132, number 788, page 274. From the entry hook off
- The small scissors sheared right through it.2010, Jennifer Maruno, Warbird, Napoleon Publishing, →ISBN, page 85. From the entry scissor
- After the accident, severely worn and sheared remnants of the acme nut threads were recovered wrapped around the acme screw.2002 December 30, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.2.2.1 Cause of the Jam”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Loss of Control and…. From the entry jackscrew
Meaning of shear
- verb To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping.
- verb To cut the hair of (a person).
- verb To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
Questions about the past tense of shear
- What is the past tense of shear?
- The past tense of shear is sheared or shore.
- What is the past participle of shear?
- The past participle of shear is shorn or sheared.
- Is shear a regular or irregular verb?
- Shear is a regular verb: its past tense adds -ed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shear (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of shear.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/shear. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.