Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
shred [shred] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for shred on Thesaurus.com noun
- a piece cut or torn off, especially in a narrow strip.
- a bit; scrap: We haven’t got a shred of evidence.
verb (used with object), shred·ded or shred, shred·ding.
- to cut or tear into small pieces, especially small strips; reduce to shreds.
verb (used without object), shred·ded or shred, shred·ding.
- to be cut up, torn, etc.: The blouse had shredded.
Origin of shred before 1000; (noun) Middle English schrede, Old English scrēade; cognate with Old Norse skrjōthr worn-out book, German Schrot chips; (v.) Middle English schreden, Old English scrēadian to pare, trim; akin to shroud; cf. screed Related formsshred·less, adjectiveshred·like, adjectiveun·shred·ded, adjective Related Words for shred speck, fragment, snippet, modicum, whit, smidgen, iota, sliver, ounce, tear, shave, rag, jot, stitch, trace, scintilla, particle, part, grain, shadow Examples from the Web for shred Contemporary Examples of shred
For 381 days, no black person in Montgomery with a shred of self-esteem rode the bus.
How Rock and Roll Killed Jim Crow
Dennis McNally
October 26, 2014
Online diagnoses are delivered hyperbolically and without a shred of bedside manner.
Strangers Diagnose Your Illness and Get Cash in Return
Kevin Zawacki
August 15, 2014
Chris McDaniel is now saying the “election was stolen” without providing a shred of evidence.
Chris McDaniel Confirms the Worst GOP Stereotypes
Stuart Stevens
July 8, 2014
As the sentences were read out, any shred of optimism evaporated.
Egyptian Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences for Al-Jazeera Journalists
Jesse Rosenfeld
June 23, 2014
The massacre has been transformed, without a shred of proof or evidence, into a shady skirmish in a murky secret war.
Naming Europe’s New Anti-Semitism
Bernard-Henri Lévy
June 10, 2014
Historical Examples of shred
You may substitute for the ham, cold smoked tongue, shred or grated.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Grate three quarters of a pound of bread; mix it with the same quantity of shred suet, the same of apples, and also of currants.
Mary Eaton
Shred half a pound of suet very fine, grate into it half a pound of French roll, a little nutmeg, and the rind of a lemon.
Mary Eaton
He never knew what importance they laid on every shred of evidence about Jeff.
Alice Brown
He wished only to escape, and his wish took every shred of the hero out of him.
Alice Brown
British Dictionary definitions for shred shred noun
- a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off
- a very small piece or amount; scrap
verb shreds, shredding, shredded or shred
- (tr) to tear or cut into shreds
Derived Formsshredder, nounWord Origin for shred Old English scread; related to Old Norse skrjōthr torn-up book, Old High German scrōt cut-off piece; see scroll, shroud, screed Word Origin and History for shred n.
Old English screade “piece cut off, cutting, scrap,” from West Germanic *skrauth- (cf. Old Frisian skred “a cutting, clipping,” Middle Dutch schroode “shred,” Middle Low German schrot “piece cut off,” Old High German scrot, “scrap, shred, a cutting, piece cut off,” German Schrot “”log, block, small shot”,” Old Norse skrydda “shriveled skin”), from PIE *skreu- “to cut; cutting tool,” extension of root *(s)ker- (1) “to cut” (see shear (v.)).
v.
Old English screadian “to peel, prune, cut off,” from Proto-Germanic *skrauth- (cf. Middle Dutch scroden, Dutch schroeien, Old High German scrotan, German schroten “to shred”), from root of shred (n.). Meaning “cut or tear into shreds” is from 1610s. Related: Shredded; shredding.