shred

1 of 2

noun

ˈshred 

 especially Southern  ˈsred

1

a

: a long narrow strip cut or torn off

b

shreds plural : a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition

a reputation torn to shreds

2

: particle, scrap

not a shred of evidence

shred

2 of 2

verb

shredded; shredding; shreds

1

transitive : to cut or tear (something) into shreds

shredded the documents

2

transitive : demolish sense 2

… sharp lawyers shredding hapless witnesses on live television …

—Charles Krauthammer

3

intransitive : to come apart in or break into shreds

The cloth had shredded.

4

a

intransitive : to ski or engage in a board sport (such as snowboarding, skateboarding, or surfing) with exceptional skill

At its regular meeting Monday, the Cullman City Council signed off on constructing a place where skateboarders can … shred … and ollie to their hearts' content.

—Benjamin Bullard

b

transitive : to shred on (a surface)

For fans of snow sports, Beach Mountain Resort, Sugar Mountain Resort and Appalachian Ski Mountain offer sweet powdery slopes to shred.

—Luke Weir

At one point, Paul was thought by many to be the best surfer on the planet, a guy who had the rare ability to totally shred waves with radical moves and yet do it very gracefully and with a beautiful flowing style.

—Corky Carroll

5

transitive + intransitive : to play an electric guitar with great skill and speed

She shreds on guitar and has the voice of an angel.

—Rachel Stone

… this child musician has to be able to shred the guitar at an adult, professional level.

—Kerry Clawson

6

transitive archaic : to cut off

shredder noun

Synonyms

Noun

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

Verb

• rend
• ribbon
• rip
• rive
• tatter
• tear

Examples of shred in a Sentence

Noun

The wallpaper is in shreds.

His reputation was in shreds after the arrest.

He struggled to retain a shred of his dignity.

Verb

Shred the cabbage and add it to the salad.

shredded some cooked chicken for the soup

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Every scene is a joy because every performance is perfectly pitched, and there’s not a shred of fat on Deborah Moggach’s screenplay (which received an uncredited development assist from Emma Thompson). —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2025

Miss Manners can promise you that there will not be a shred of curiosity left in those formerly nosy questioners. —Judith Martin, Mercury News, 21 Apr. 2025

Verb

The Cavaliers then moved to a 62-42 halftime lead, shredding the Heat defense while flourishing with their league-best offense. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2025

The storm shredded the domed stadium’s roof to pieces, among other devastation. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shred

• bed
• bled
• bread
• bred
• dead
• dread
• ed
• fed
• fled
• ged
• head
• lead

Kids Definition

shred

1 of 2 noun

ˈshred 

1

a

: a long narrow piece cut or torn off : scrap

shreds of cloth

b

plural : a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition

the loss tore his confidence to shreds

reputation was in shreds

2

: a small amount : bit

not a shred of evidence

shred

2 of 2 verb

shredded; shredding

: to cut or tear into shreds

shred paper

shred cabbage

shredder noun