shred

¹shred

noun \ˈshred, especially Southern ˈsred\

Definition of SHRED

1

a : a long narrow strip cut or torn off

b plural : a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition <a reputation torn to shreds>

2

: particle, scrap <not a shred of evidence>

Examples of SHRED

1. The wallpaper is in shreds.
2. His reputation was in shreds after the arrest.
3. He struggled to retain a shred of his dignity.

Origin of SHRED

Middle English shrede, from Old English scrēade; akin to Old High German scrōt piece cut off

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SHRED

Synonyms

ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, particle, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, trace

Related Words

hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit; atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap; dash, drop, pinch; part, portion, section; bite, nibble, taste; handful, scattering, smatter, smattering; dose, shot; chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter; particle, tatter; clipping, paring, shaving

Near Antonyms

abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth; volume; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; chunk, hunk, lump, slab

Rhymes with SHRED

bed, bread, dead, dread, ed, fed, head, lead, med, ped, read, red, Red, redd, said, shed, sled, spread, stead, ted, thread, tread, wed, zed

²shred

verb

shred·dedshred·ding

Definition of SHRED

transitive verb

1

archaic : to cut off

2

: to cut or tear into shreds <shredded the documents>

3

: demolish 2 <sharp lawyers shredding hapless witnesses — Charles Krauthammer>

intransitive verb

: to come apart in or break up into shreds

— shred·der noun

Examples of SHRED

1. Shred the cabbage and add it to the salad.
2. <shredded some cooked chicken for the soup>

First Known Use of SHRED

before 12th century

Related to SHRED

Synonyms

rend, ribbon, rip, rive, tear, tatter

Related Words

break, cleave, rupture, split; cut, gash, incise, lacerate, slash; butcher, dismember, dissect, hack, mangle