shred
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shred¹
- /ʃɹɛd/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɛd
Where it comes from
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.
noun 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.
Similar: ounce, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, continental, bit, crumb, glimpse, dab
- 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.
- 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.
- 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; […]
- 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!"
- 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.
shred²
- /ʃɹɛd/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɛd
Where it comes from
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.
verb shreds · shredding · shredded · 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 u
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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; […]
- To chop or cut (something) into pieces. Another vvafts his Blade about his head, / And ſhevvs them hovv their hãſtrings [hamstrings] he vvil ſhread.
- 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 irr
- 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; […]
- 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!
- To reduce body weight due to fat and water before a competition.
- To travel swiftly using a snowboard, surfboard, or vehicle.
adjective more shred · 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.
Similar: shredded
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tear up, rip up, tatter, rag, scintilla, smidge, smidgin, smidgeon, smidgen, whit, tag end, tag, tittle, iota, scrap, fragment
Translations
Every language
noun a long, narrow piece cut or torn off — see also strip
| Español | triza, tira, brizna, brinza |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 碎布條 /碎布条 suìbùtiáo |
| Français | lambeau |
| Deutsch | Lumpen |
| Русский | клочо́к kločók, лоску́т loskút |
| עברית | גֶּזֶר gézer |
noun fragment of something; very small amount — see also particle, piece
| 中文 | 些許 /些许 xiēxǔ, 一丁點 /一丁点 yīdīngdiǎn |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Fitzel, Fitzelchen, winziges Stückchen, Schnipsel, Schnitzel |
| Italiano | rimasuglio |
| Русский | кусо́к kusók |
verb to cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips
| Español | triturar, trocear |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 切碎 qiēsuì |
| Português | trinchar |
| Français | couper, déchiqueter, dilacérer, lacérer, râper |
| Deutsch | schreddern, zerfetzen, zerkleinern |
| Italiano | tagliuzzare |
| Ελληνικά | κομματιάζω kommatiázo |
| Русский | измельча́ть izmelʹčátʹ, кромса́ть kromsátʹ |
| עברית | גָּרַס garás |
verb to play (a musical instrument or a piece of music) very fast
| Français | déchirer |
|---|
verb to reduce body weight due to fat and water before a competition
| Français | fondre |
|---|
Talk about this word "shred." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shred. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shred. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shred "shred." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shred.Cite this
@misc{shred_2026,
title = {shred},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shred},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
