shorn

[ shawrn, shohrn ]

/ ʃɔrn, ʃoʊrn /

verb

a past participle of shear.

OTHER WORDS FROM shorn

un·shorn, adjective

Words nearby shorn

shoreview, shoreward, shoreweed, shorewood, shoring, shorn, short, short account, short and sweet, short ballot, short bill

Definition for shorn (2 of 2)

shear

[ sheer ]

/ ʃɪər /

verb (used with object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

to cut (something).

to remove by or as if by cutting or clipping with a sharp instrument: to shear wool from sheep.

to cut or clip the hair, fleece, wool, etc., from: to shear sheep.

to strip or deprive (usually followed by of): to shear someone of power.

Chiefly Scot. to reap with a sickle.

to travel through by or as if by cutting: Chimney swifts sheared the air.

verb (used without object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

to cut or cut through something with a sharp instrument.

to progress by or as if by cutting: The cruiser sheared through the water.

Mechanics, Geology. to become fractured along a plane as a result of forces acting parallel to the plane.

Chiefly Scot. to reap crops with a sickle.

noun

Usually shears. (sometimes used with a singular verb)

scissors of large size (usually used with pair of).
any of various other cutting implements or machines having two blades that resemble or suggest those of scissors.

the act or process of shearing or being sheared.

a shearing of sheep (used in stating the age of sheep): a sheep of one shear.

the quantity, especially of wool or fleece, cut off at one shearing.

one blade of a pair of large scissors.

Usually shears. (usually used with a plural verb) Also sheers. Also called shear legs, sheerlegs. a framework for hoisting heavy weights, consisting of two or more spars with their legs separated, fastened together near the top and steadied by guys, which support a tackle.

a machine for cutting rigid material, as metal in sheet or plate form, by moving the edge of a blade through it.

Mechanics, Geology. the tendency of forces to deform or fracture a member or a rock in a direction parallel to the force, as by sliding one section against another.

Physics. the lateral deformation produced in a body by an external force, expressed as the ratio of the lateral displacement between two points lying in parallel planes to the vertical distance between the planes.

Origin of shear

before 900; (v.) Middle English sheren, Old English sceran, cognate with Dutch, German scheren, Old Norse skera; (noun) (in sense “tool for shearing”) Middle English sheres (plural), continuing Old English scērero, scēar, two words derived from the same root as the v.

OTHER WORDS FROM shear

shear·er, noun shear·less, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shear

shear sheer

Example sentences from the Web for shorn

Even shorn of all that gratuitous nudity, though, Drive He Said would be far from a masterpiece.

Jack Nicholson Deserves a Better Biography Than This |Christopher Bray |October 31, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The facades of two six-story buildings have been shorn off, allowing a glimpse into wrecked apartments.

After Beirut Bombing of Wissan al-Hassan, a Wary Calm in Lebanon |Jamie Dettmer |October 30, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Shorn of the details Romney seldom discusses, his drumbeat appeal is simple.

Mitt Romney Is a Lot Like Thomas E. Dewey, the Equivocating Loser to Truman |Robert Shrum |June 18, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The hair was shorn after the gassings, then efficiently dried in the crematoria so it could be industrially spun into carpeting.

My Visit To Hell |Christopher Buckley |January 30, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

He was no priest now—he was shorn of the profession which had been his life.

The Perpetual Curate |Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
Shorn of these, both alike find their strength is gone from them.

Modern Eloquence: Vol II, After-Dinner Speeches E-O |Various
In the great hall feasts were held for 100 poor people; but the palace now is shorn of a good deal of its grandeur.

Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Exeter |Percy Addleshaw
Hogs and Tegs: the first shearing of sheep that have not been shorn as lambs.

Vegetable Dyes |Ethel M. Mairet
It is shorn of the honors, both of a humane and patriotic enterprise, and merged in the responsibility of a political misdemeanor.

Abolition a Sedition |Geo. W. Donohue

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (1 of 2)

shorn

/ (ʃɔːn) /

verb

a past participle of shear

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (2 of 2)

shear

/ (ʃɪə) /

verb shears, shearing or sheared or Australian and NZ shore, sheared or shorn

(tr) to remove (the fleece or hair) of (sheep, etc) by cutting or clipping

to cut or cut through (something) with shears or a sharp instrument

engineering to cause (a part, member, shaft, etc) to deform or fracture or (of a part, etc) to deform or fracture as a result of excess torsion or transverse load

(tr often foll by of) to strip or divest to shear someone of his power

(when intr, foll by through) to move through (something) by or as if by cutting

Scot to reap (corn, etc) with a scythe or sickle

noun

the act, process, or an instance of shearing

a shearing of a sheep or flock of sheep, esp when referred to as an indication of age a sheep of two shears

a form of deformation or fracture in which parallel planes in a body or assembly slide over one another

physics the deformation of a body, part, etc, expressed as the lateral displacement between two points in parallel planes divided by the distance between the planes

either one of the blades of a pair of shears, scissors, etc

a machine that cuts sheet material by passing a knife blade through it

a device for lifting heavy loads consisting of a tackle supported by a framework held steady by guy ropes

Derived forms of shear

shearer, noun

Word Origin for shear

Old English sceran; related to Old Norse skera to cut, Old Saxon, Old High German skeran to shear; see share ²

Scientific definitions for shorn

shear

[ shîr ]

A force, movement or pressure applied to an object perpendicular to a given axis, with greater value on one side of the axis than the other. See more at shear force stress strain.

See skew.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

shorn

verb

OTHER WORDS FROM shorn

Words nearby shorn

Definition for shorn (2 of 2)

verb (used with object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

verb (used without object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

noun

Origin of shear

OTHER WORDS FROM shear

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shear

Example sentences from the Web for shorn

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (1 of 2)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (2 of 2)

verb shears, shearing or sheared or Australian and NZ shore, sheared or shorn

noun

Derived forms of shear

Word Origin for shear

Scientific definitions for shorn

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

shorn

verb

OTHER WORDS FROM shorn

Words nearby shorn

Definition for shorn (2 of 2)

verb (used with object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

verb (used without object), sheared, sheared or shorn, shear·ing.

noun

Origin of shear

OTHER WORDS FROM shear

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shear

Words related to shorn

Example sentences from the Web for shorn

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (1 of 2)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for shorn (2 of 2)

verb shears, shearing or sheared or Australian and NZ shore, sheared or shorn

noun

Derived forms of shear

Word Origin for shear

Scientific definitions for shorn