shave

verb \ ˈshāv \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of shave

shaved; shaved or shaven play \ˈshā-vən\; shaving

transitive verb

1 a : to remove a thin layer from

b : to cut off in thin layers or shreds : slice

c : to cut off closely

2 a : to sever the hair from (the head or another part of the body) close to the roots

b : to cut off (hair or beard) close to the skin

3 a : to discount (a note) at an exorbitant rate

b : deduct, reduce

c : to conspire to score fewer (points) than one is capable of (as to affect gambling outcomes)

4 : to come close to or touch lightly in passing

intransitive verb

1 : to cut off hair or beard close to the skin

2 : to proceed with difficulty : scrape

See shave defined for English-language learners

See shave defined for kids

Examples of shave in a Sentence

She cut herself while shaving her legs.
The sheep were all shaved.
He shaves every morning before breakfast.
I cut myself shaving this morning.
She shaves her dog's fur in the summer.
He shaved some butter from the container.

Recent Examples of shave from the Web

Winter Springs sophomore Elayna Bahr shaved nearly four seconds off her personal best to win the girls 800 with a time of 2 ninutes, 13.90 seconds.

— buddy collings, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Fast district times on fast track at National Training Center," 12 Apr. 2018
A week later at the New England Championships, also at the Reggie Lewis Center, Oosting — determined to break nine minutes — somehow shaved 11 seconds off that time with an 8:57.59.

— craig larson, BostonGlobe.com, "This winter season was filled with sportsmanship, success, and drama," 6 Apr. 2018
Baldwin and Harden mixed it up late in the second quarter as the Blazers shaved the deficit to 51-40.

— special to the oregonian, OregonLive.com, "Chris Paul spoils improbable 4th-quarter comeback by Portland Trail Blazers," 5 Apr. 2018
At the center of the camp, an open-air barber shaves off the beards of the men.

— tamara qiblawi, frederik pleitgen and claudia otto, CNN, "Children swap basement hideouts for rooftop playgrounds after escaping war," 5 Apr. 2018
The company made investments that let clients send orders with the least possible delay by moving servers closer to exchanges and using wires that shaved microseconds off the process.

— hugh son, Bloomberg.com, "Wall Street’s Big Banks Are Waging an All-Out Technological Arms Race," 5 Apr. 2018
Amanda McMillan, a Chicago realtor who used TurboAppeal to shave $700 off her 2015 tax bill, said a few clients who probably would not have otherwise fought their property taxes followed her advice and gave TurboAppeal a whirl.

— teke wiggin, Recode, "Lawyer bots take the hassle out of fighting parking tickets and property taxes — and could cost local governments real revenue," 5 Apr. 2018
At the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Jorgensen ran 31:55.68 in the 10,000 meters, shaving nearly two minutes off her personal best, a time that was from her days as a distance runner at Wisconsin nearly nine years ago.

— chris chavez, SI.com, "A Champion’s New Chase: Gwen Jorgensen on Her Move to Marathoning," 2 Apr. 2018
Students will have the option of a year-round, three-year program, which would shave expenses from an annual tuition that runs upward of $50,000, officials said.

— melanie grayce west, WSJ, "New Jersey Venture Aims to Stop ‘Exodus’ of Medical Students," 24 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shave

Middle English, from Old English scafan; akin to Lithuanian skobti to pluck, Latin scabere to scratch, and perhaps to Greek koptein to cut — more at capon

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

shave Synonyms

Synonyms

brush, graze, kiss, nudge, skim;

Near Antonyms

bang, bash, bump, clash, collide, crash, hit, impact, impinge, knock, punch, ram, slam, slap, smack, smash, swipe, thud, thwack, whack;

bounce, carom, glance, rebound, ricochet, skip;

caress, cuddle, fondle, love, pat, pet, stroke;

miss, skirt;

shave

noun

Definition of shave

1 : shaver 3

2 : a thin slice : shaving

3 : an act or the process of shaving

See shave defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of shave from the Web

Customers can enjoy services ranging from a hand massage to a shave.

— charisse jones, USA TODAY, "Nordstrom's first NYC store offers cocktails, round the clock pick up and even a shave," 9 Apr. 2018
With some crediting a recent clean shave for busting his 10-game shooting funk, Mirotic's shooting threat as a big man can open the floor for Davis and Holiday.

— paul coro, latimes.com, "Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday & Co. on verge of completing Pelicans' playoff push," 7 Apr. 2018
Amid the buzz of hair clippers and the beat of hip-hop, barber Corey Thomas squeezes in a little advice to the clients who come into his Inglewood, Calif., shop for shaves and fade cuts.

— susan abram, Washington Post, "Black Men’s Blood Pressure Is Cut Along With Their Hair," 12 Mar. 2018
A few hours before Beckham’s event in the club, Fridlevski mixed with a crop of bearded and tattooed models and lifestyle bloggers at Ruffians Shoreditch, an East London barbershop where a shave will set you back £55 ($76).

— robert williams, Bloomberg.com, "David Beckham’s Latest Pitch: Men’s Cosmetics," 7 Mar. 2018
Properly prepare the skin with hot water and pre-shave oil.

— adam hurly, GQ, "How to Prevent Razor Burn," 3 Mar. 2018
Goats get a shave and a haircut before heading out for judging for the 2018 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

— shelby webb, Houston Chronicle, "Houston Rodeo gets off to a soggy start," 27 Feb. 2018
Bonus: The pre-shave moisturizing bar is sulfate-, SLS-, and paraben-free.

— Southern Living, "This Razor Pod Will Make Sure You Never Say, "Missed a Spot" Again," 23 Feb. 2018
In their spare time, the technicians grease the Zamboni machines, four total, and change their blades—a dull one can actually create ripples in the ice—to ensure a smooth, easy shave.

— rose minutaglio, Esquire, "The Few, the Proud, the Olympic Zamboni Operators," 20 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of shave

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

SHAVE Defined for English Language Learners

shave

verb

Definition of shave for English Language Learners

: to cut the hair, wool, etc., off (someone or something) very close to the skin
: to cut off (hair, wool, a beard, etc.) very close to the skin
: to remove a thin layer of (something) from something