What does shredded mean?
Shredded describes something that has been cut, torn, or broken into small strips or pieces. It is especially familiar in culinary contexts, where shredded cheese, cabbage, chicken, or similar ingredients are cut into thin strips. The word also has a practical and somewhat serious use in describing documents destroyed by passing them through a shredder. As a verb, shredded is the past tense and past participle of shred, as in 'She shredded the old invoices.' The word can suggest either ordinary preparation, as with food, or deliberate destruction, as with confidential papers. Its clear imagery and broad range of uses make it a useful term for describing materials reduced to small pieces.
Cut or torn into small strips or pieces.
"The sandwich was filled with shredded turkey and lettuce."
Common in food preparation and in descriptions of documents destroyed with a shredder.
Cut or tear something into small pieces or strips.
"He shredded the confidential documents in the office."
Usually transitive and commonly used in the past tense or past participle.
From shredding documents to sprinkling shredded cheese, this word describes the many ways small pieces come to be.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does shredded come from?
The word derives from the English verb 'shred', which originally referred to cutting or tearing something into pieces, especially by scraping or cutting. Adding the suffix '-ed' creates the adjective and the past tense and past participle form 'shredded'. The noun 'shredder', for a machine that cuts material into strips, developed from the same root.
Related word forms
How shredded is actually used
The adjective is especially common in food preparation and in the phrase 'shredded documents'. As a verb, it is the past tense and past participle of 'shred' and is generally transitive.
Easily confused with shredded
Shredded means cut or torn into small pieces, whereas spread means extended over a surface.
Shred is the base form naming the action or the material, while shredded describes the result of that action.