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shears

verb

present tense third-person singular of shear
1
as in shaves
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument it took almost a week to shear all the wool off the flock of sheep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slits
to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife) the shark's razor-sharp teeth sheared the swimmer's flesh right down to the bone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shears
  1. shaves
  2. slices
  3. cuts
  4. rips
  5. clips
  6. slashes
  7. trims
  8. snips
Verb
  • That shaves a year off the typical 120-hour bachelor’s degree.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • For example, using behind-the-meter battery storage or local generation during peak windows actively shaves expensive demand charges without sacrificing performance.
    — Ray Fernandez, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaves
Verb
  • You may already be accustomed to changing channels frequently, since the NFL eagerly slices up its schedule across multiple networks.
    — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026
  • That line slices the plane into two halves, one of which will contain two corners of the outer triangle (the bottom half in the figure below).
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of slices
Verb
  • This specific part of the course cuts across the 9th fairway.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Youth then cuts to Horgan’s protagonist, Alex, mid–brainless-social-media scroll, watching an AI video of someone giving a cockatiel a haircut.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of cuts
Verb
  • During a process called Hills capture, as a stellar binary orbits a supermassive black hole and the gravitational influence of the black hole rips the binary apart, ejecting one star while capturing the other.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But the coyote has other plans and rips it up, forcing the matter to trial.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of rips
Verb
  • All of my essentials are packed in my Stowaway, which clips into my weekender as a bag organizer, and can clip out to be worn on its own as a crossbody when walking around during the day or as a clutch when going out in the evening.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 16 July 2026
  • This compact tote folds into a small pouch that clips directly onto your keys and expands into a functional bag when needed.
    — Corein Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026
Definition of clips
Verb
  • This setup slashes solvent consumption by 40 percent and cuts the equipment footprint by more than half.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Microsoft slashes Xbox Cloud Gaming to just 15 hours a month for Ultimate subscribers.
    — Tom Warren, The Verge, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of slashes
Verb
  • The change, announced in a presentation on Wednesday, is part of a broader shift in Microsoft’s reporting structure, as the company trims its operating segments from three to two.
    — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
  • To make things easier, Instagram rolled out a new First Draft tool on Tuesday that automatically trims your clips and prepares them for the next stage of the editing process.
    — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of trims
Verb
  • Benson snips off a portion of Kaylee’s hair in one shot, followed by a snap of the musician wrapping his arms around his older sister in a comforting hug.
    — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
  • Grandmother takes a small pair of scissors from her bag and snips a swatch from the green cloth, then slips it into her pocket.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of snips
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

shearing
shears
sheath
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Cite this Entry

“Shears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shears. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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