noun
- Often shavings. a very thin piece or slice, especially of wood.
- the act of a person or thing that shaves.
verb (used without object), shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shav·en, shav·ing.
- to remove a growth of beard with a razor.
verb (used with object), shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shav·en, shav·ing.
- to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.
- to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off or away).
- to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool: to shave hides in preparing leather.
- to reduce to shavings or thin slices: to shave wood.
- to cut or trim closely: to shave a lawn.
- to scrape, graze, or come very near to: The car just shaved the garage door.
- Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.
- to reduce or deduct from: The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.
noun
- the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.
- a thin slice; a shaving.
- any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.
noun
- a thin paring or slice, esp of wood, that has been shaved from something
adjective
- used when shaving the face, etcshaving cream
verb shaves, shaving, shaved, shaved or shaven (mainly tr)
- (also intr) to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor
- to cut or trim very closely
- to reduce to shavings
- to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare
- to touch or graze in passing
- informal to reduce (a price) by a slight amount
- US commerce to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal
noun
- the act or an instance of shaving
- any tool for scraping
- a thin slice or shaving
- an instance of barely touching something
- close shave informal a narrow escape
n.“act of removing hair with a razor,” also “thin slice taken off,” late 14c., verbal noun from shave (v.). v.Old English sceafan (strong verb, past tense scof, past participle scafen), “to scrape, shave, polish,” from Proto-Germanic *skaban (cf. Old Norse skafa, Middle Dutch scaven, German schaben, Gothic skaban “scratch, shave, scrape”), from PIE *skabh-, collateral form of root *(s)kep- “to cut, to scrape, to hack” (see scabies). Related: Shaved; shaving. Original strong verb status is preserved in past tense form shaven. Specifically in reference to cutting the hair close from mid-13c. Figurative sense of “to strip (someone) of money or possessions” is attested from late 14c. n.c.1600, “something shaved off;” from shave (v.); Old English sceafa meant “tool for shaving.” Meaning “operation of shaving” is from 1838. Meaning “a grazing touch” is recorded from 1834. Phrase a close shave is from 1856, on notion of “a slight, grazing touch.” see close call (shave).