shred
pronunciation
How to pronounce shred in British English:
UK [ʃred]
How to pronounce shred in American English:
US [ʃred]
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- Noun:
- a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
- a small piece of cloth or paper
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- Verb:
- tear into shreds
Word Origin
- shred
- shred: [OE] A shred is etymologically a ‘cut’ piece. The word comes ultimately from the prehistoric West Germanic base *skraud-, *skreud-, *skrud- ‘cut’, source also of English shroud. From it was formed the noun *skrautha, which has evolved into German schrot, Dutch schroot, and English shred, and has also, via a circuitous route, given English scroll.=> scroll, shroud
- shred (v.)
- Old English screadian "to peel, prune, cut off," from Proto-Germanic *skrauth- (cognates: 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.
- shred (n.)
- Old English screade "piece cut off, cutting, scrap," from Proto-Germanic *skrauth- (cognates: 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.)).
Example
- 1. The people 's flag is deeply shred
- 2. It is a grim picture , though attenborough is not without some shred of optimism .
- 3. They send a pile of old invoice to be shred .
- 4. Do not , under any circumstances , attempt to burn or shred the money yourselves .
- 5. My vision of a wholesome family meal is evaporating , and with it the shred of confidence I was nurturing in my abilities .