What does shear mean?
Shear most commonly means to cut hair or wool with shears, as in shearing sheep or trimming a person’s hair. It can also mean to remove or break something off through a cutting or sliding action. In technical contexts, especially engineering, construction, and geology, shear refers to the distortion or displacement of a material when forces act in opposite directions along a plane or surface. The word may therefore describe either an action performed with cutting tools or the physical deformation of a substance. “Shear off” is a common expression for something becoming detached under force, while “shear stress” names the kind of force associated with bending or twisting materials. Although the verb is much more frequent in ordinary use, “shear” also has a noun sense referring to shearing or to the deformation produced by shearing forces.
To cut hair, wool, or another material with shears or a similar cutting tool; to remove or break off by a cutting or shearing action; or, in technical contexts, to deform or become distorted under force.
"The shears sheared through the thick bundle of cables."
The technical force-related senses are used in specialized contexts, particularly engineering, construction, and geology.
The act of shearing, or a shearing force or deformation.
"The material failed under shear."
The noun is relatively uncommon outside technical contexts; the plural “shears” is more familiar.
The plural form is standard when referring to cutting tools, and is also common in the technical expression “shear stress.”
"The farmer tested the shears before beginning the shearing."
The same word that describes cutting wool also describes the bending and distortion that force can cause in metal, soil, or rock.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of shear
The English word comes from Old English scear, used for a cutting instrument and related forms meaning shearing or shearings, with the Middle English form sheren developing from that base. The word is cognate with Dutch schaar and German Schere, both meaning shears. Its modern technical meanings developed from the older sense of cutting or dividing material.
Related word forms
How shear is actually used
In everyday use, “shear” is most often associated with cutting wool from sheep or hair from people. The technical senses involving force and deformation are formal and specialized.
Easily confused with shear
Shear is a verb meaning to cut or to undergo cutting or deformation, whereas sheer is an adjective meaning absolute or steep, or an adverb meaning completely.