shred
UK/ʃɹɛd/
shred noun: a fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.
Noun
shred (plural shreds)
- A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.
- There isn’t a shred of evidence to support his claims.
- His gayeſt flooriſhes are but Gaſcoignes Weedes, or Tarletons trickes, or Greenes crankes, or Marlowes bravadoes; his jeſts, but the dregges of common ſcurrilitie, or the ſhreds of the Theater, or the of-ſcouring of new pamflets: […]1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e., Gabriel Harvey], Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame, London: […] Iohn Wolfe...
- A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
- To leaue him that bare a Monarkes minde, / For a king of clovvts, of very ſhreads.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell...
- […] Gold being grovvn ſomevvhat churliſh by recovering, is made more pliant by throvving in ſhreds of tanned Leather, or any Leather oiled.a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, “[Baconiana Physiologica. […].] Articles of Questions Touching Minerals; […]. [What be the Compound Metals that are Common and Known? and What are the...
- A thin strand or wisp, as of a cloud, mist, etc.
- A thin strip of fruit peel, a vegetable, etc., cut so that it curls.
- Three shreds of celery in a glass.1840, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “A Shabby Genteel Dinner, and Other Incidents of a Like Nature”, in “A Shabby Genteel Story”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume IV, London: Bradbury and...
- A piece of gold or silver lace or thread.
- But, vvhen a tvvelvemonth paſs'd avvay, / Jack found his goddeſs made of clay; / Found half the charms that deck'd her face, / Aroſe from povvder, ſhreds, or lace; […]1765, [Oliver] Goldsmith, “Essay XXVI. The Double Transformation: A Tale.”, in Essays. […], London: […] W[illiam] Griffin […], →OCLC, pages 230–231
- A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”).
- And when he neared Brandon he pulled up, sorted his pots, kept the whole ones, threw the shreds at the rabbits, and walked on into Brandon solemnly, leading the mare, and crying "Pots!"1866, C[harles] Kingsley, “How Hereward Played the Potter; and How He Cheated the King”, in Hereward the Wake, “Last of the English.” […], volume II, London; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and...
- A tailor.
- Mer[curie]. Is it ſo, ſir, you impudent Poultroun? you ſlaue, you liſt, you ſhreds, you.— […] Ana[ides]. S'foot, vve muſt vſe our taylors thus.1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby...
- As if thou ere vver't angry / But vvith thy Taylor, and yet that poore ſhred / Can bring more to the making vp of a man, / Then can be hop'd from thee: […]c. 1619 (date written), P[hilip] M[assinger], N[athan] F[ield], The Fatall Dowry: A Tragedy. […], London: […] Iohn Norton, for Francis Constable, […], published 1632, →OCLC, Act III
Verb
shred (third-person singular simple present shreds, present participle shredding, simple past shredded, past participle shredded or shred)
- To cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips.
- Take a little grated Bread, ſome Beef-ſuet, yolks of hard Eggs, three Anchovies, a bit of an Onion, Salt and Pepper, Tyme and VVinter-ſavory, tvvelve Oyſters, ſome Nutmeg grated; mix all theſe together, and ſhred them very fine, and vvork them up vvith ravv Eggs like a paſte, and ſtuff your Mutton...1729, E[liza] S[mith], “To Stuff a Shoulder or Leg of Mutton with Oysters”, in The Compleat Housewife: Or, Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion: […], 3rd edition, London: […] J[ohn] Pemberton, […]...
- To destroy (a document) by cutting or tearing into strips or small pieces that cannot easily be read, especially using a shredder.
- But then there was the awkward incident of the tearing of the writs. Nigel, to whom a lie was an impossibility, had to admit that with his own hands he had shredded those august documents.1905–1906, Arthur Conan Doyle, “How Nigel was Tried by the Abbot of Waverley”, in Sir Nigel, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published January 1906, →OCLC, page 53
- To cut (fruit peel, a vegetable, etc.) into thin strips that curl.
- To separate (something) into small portions.
- Hunger was shred into atomies in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.1859, Charles Dickens, “The Wine-shop”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book I (Recalled to Life), page 19
- To reduce (something) by a large percentage; to slash.
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, never wanted his customers to worry about shipping – about how much it cost, or about how long it would take – and he relentlessly shredded delivery times to make shipping incidental to the purchasing experience.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
- Chiefly in rock and heavy metal: to play (a musical instrument (especially a guitar) or a piece of music) very fast and in a way that requires technical skill.
- To cut through (snow, water, etc.) swiftly with one's snowboard, surfboard, etc.; (by extension) to move or ride along (a road, track, etc.) aggressively and rapidly.
- To convincingly defeat (someone); to thrash, to trounce.
- To cut or sever (something) into two parts.
- Then ſince (quoth ſhe) the terme of each mans life / For nought may leſſened nor enlarged bee, / Graunt this, that vvhen ye ſhred vvith fatall knife / His line, vvhich is the eldeſt of the three, / VVhich of them the ſhorteſt, as I ſee, / Eftſoones his life may paſſe into the next; […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 52, pages 35–36
- To chop or cut (something) into pieces.
- Another vvafts his Blade about his head, / And ſhevvs them hovv their hãſtrings [hamstrings] he vvil ſhread.1627, Michaell [i.e., Michael] Drayton, “The Battaile of Agincourt”, in The Battaile of Agincourt. […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for William Lee, […], →OCLC, page 43
- Seeſt thou this, bold bright blade? / This Sword ſhall ſhred thee as ſmall unto the Grave, / As minc'd meat for a Pie.1633 (first performance), Ben Jonson, “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Works of Beniamin Jonson, […] (Third Folio), London: […] Thomas Hodgkin, for H[enry] Herringman, E. Brewster, T. Bassett...
- To cut, lop, or strip (branches, etc.) off; also, to cut (a piece) from something.
- To call in queſtion the iuriſdiction of Archbiſhops, they affirme that no man is to take vpon him an office but hee that is called, as vvas Aaron: but they are not avvare, that the ſame poſition ſhreddeth avvay the vvilde autoritie of doctors, elders, conſiſtorie, conferences, & their abſurd and...1590, Matth[ew] Sutcliffe, “Of the Contrarietie of Their Discipline”, in A Treatise of Ecclesiasticall Discipline: […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Nevvberie, →OCLC, page 111
- You ly, you ly, Gabriell: I know what you are about to ſaye, but He ſhred you off three leaves at one blowe.1596, Tho[mas] Nashe, “Dialogus”, in Haue with You to Saffron-Walden. Or, Gabriell Harveys Hunt is Up. […], London: […] John Danter, →OCLC; republished as J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, Have with...
- To prune or trim (a tree, a vineyard, etc.).
- As for Timber-trees, it is beſt not to head them at all, but to ſhred them up to one ſingle Bough, if the Soil be good that you plant them in; […]1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, “Of Transplanting of Trees”, in The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and...
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
- To become separated into small portions.
- We couldn't see over the wall of smoke, and we couldn't see through it. But at last it began to shred away lazily, and by the end of another quarter-hour the land was clear and our curiosity was enabled to satisfy itself. No living creature was in sight!1889, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “The Battle of the Sand-belt”, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, New York, N.Y.: Charles L. Webster & Company, →OCLC, page 554
- What is this that rises before me? Mist, mist, rolling mist with a square black tower above it. See it shreds out, it thins, it rises, and there lies a castle in a green plain, with the sea beneath it, and a great church within a bow-shot.1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “How the Blessed Hour of Sight Came to the Lady Tiphaine”, in The White Company […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 68
- To reduce body weight due to fat and water before a competition.
- To travel swiftly using a snowboard, surfboard, or vehicle.
Adjective
shred (comparative more shred, superlative most shred)
- Synonym of shredded (“cut or torn into narrow strips or small pieces”).
- The ſtinging alſo of ſhred Horſ-hair, which in meriment is often ſtrew'd between the ſheets of a Bed, ſeems to proceed from the ſame cauſe.1665, R[obert] Hooke, “Observ[ation] XXV. Of the Stinging Points and Juice of Nettles, and Some Other Venemous Plants.”, in Micrographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by...
- Synonyms:
- shredded
shred meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam
shred in Hindi
- shred, strip
- धज्जी dhajjī
- shred, slice , strip
- लच्छा lacchā
shred in Tamil
- to shred
- பிய் piy
shred in Bengali
- কুচি, ফালি, অতি সামান্য অংশ
shred in Malayalam
- തുണ്ട്, ചെറിയ കഷണം, ചെറിയ സംഖ്യ, വസ്ത്രഖണ്ഡം
More languagesFewer languages
- shred in Kannada
- ಚೂರು, ಮುಕ್ಕು, ಹರಕಲು, ತುಣುಕು
- shred in Malay
- goreng
- shred in Persian
- کراد korâd
Examples of shred in a sentence
- That the gods ſent not / Corne for the Richmen onely: VVith theſe ſhreds / They vented their Complainings, […]c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies...
- He munched a shred of toast, and was off by the omnibus to chambers.1860 January–June, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “In which I Play the Spy”, in Lovel the Widower, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […]...
- A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from.2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The Heroes of Soham …”, in Rail, number 948, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- A wandering minstrel I— / A thing of shreds and patches, / Of ballads, songs and snatches, / And dreamy lullaby!1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, “Song—Nanki-Poo”, in […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel...
Synonyms of shred
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of shred
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | shreds |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | shreds |
| present participle | shredding |
| past | shredded |
| past participle | shredded |
| past participle | shred |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | shreddest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | shreddedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | shreddeth |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more shred |
| superlative | most shred |
Origin of shred
From Middle English shrede, shred (“fragment, piece, scrap; piece cut off from something; strip of material; ornamental strip hanging from the edge of a garment; thread; band or thread woven in a garment; element, streak; plant (?)”) [and other forms], from Late Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“piece cut off from something; a paring; a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a crack; a cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). Doublet of escrow.
The verb is derived from Middle English shreden, shred (“to chop, cut up; to cut, hack; to wound with a knife; to cut off a part of (something); to prune, trim”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrēadian (“to cut up, shred; to cut off; to prune, trim”), from Proto-West Germanic *skraudōn, related to Proto-West Germanic *skraudan (“to cut up; to shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudaną (“to cut up; to shred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). The adjective is derived from the past participle form of the verb.
Words formed from shred
Phrases with shred
Words that rhyme with shred
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- wed
- ahead
- bread
- sled
- embed
- in one's stead
- inbred
- ped
- zed
- bestead
- cred
- ed
- fed
- med
- undead
- abed
- bedspread
- DMZ
- Fred
- led
- Prussian red
- retread
- spoon-fed
- unwed
- z
- antired
- aspread
- bark bed
- behead
- bested
- bled
- block head
- bred
- cabin bed
- common thread
- Cow Head
- Crow Head
- faned
- fled
- freedom bread
- fugged
- instead
- ked
- knead
- misled
- ned
- pled
- read
Questions about shred
- What does shred mean?
- Shred means a fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.
- What is shred in Hindi?
- Shred in Hindi is धज्जी (dhajjī), लच्छा (lacchā). See Shred meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use shred in a sentence?
- That the gods ſent not / Corne for the Richmen onely: VVith theſe ſhreds / They vented their Complainings, […]
- What part of speech is shred?
- Shred can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce shred?
- Shred is pronounced /ʃɹɛd/ (UK).
- What is the plural of shred?
- The plural of shred is shreds.
Words near shred in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shred (page history and authors); धज्जी (Hindi) (page history and authors); பிய் (Tamil) (page history and authors); shred (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shred (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); shred (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-shred.ogg.
Cite this entry: “shred.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shred. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.