shave

[sheyv] /ʃeɪv/
verb (used without object), shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shaven, shaving.
1.
to remove a growth of beard with a razor.
verb (used with object), shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shaven, shaving.
2.
to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.
3.
to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off or away).
4.
to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool:
to shave hides in preparing leather.
5.
to reduce to shavings or thin slices:
to shave wood.
6.
to cut or trim closely:
to shave a lawn.
7.
to scrape, graze, or come very near to:
The car just shaved the garage door.
8.
Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.
9.
to reduce or deduct from:
The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.
noun
10.
the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.
11.
a thin slice; shaving.
12.
any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.
Origin
before 900; (v.) Middle English schaven, schafen, Old English sc(e)afan; cognate with Dutch schaven to plane (a plank), abrade (the skin), Low German schaven, German schaben, Old Norse skafa to scrape, Gothic skaban to shear, shave; (noun) Middle English schave tool for shaving, Old English sc(e)afa, derivative of the v.
Related forms
shavable, shaveable, adjective
reshave, verb, reshaved, reshaving.
unshavable, adjective
unshaveable, adjective
unshaved, adjective
well-shaved, adjective
Synonyms
7. brush, glance, touch.
Examples from the web for shave
  • Nuns shave their heads and eyebrows and generally follow the same precepts as monks.
British Dictionary definitions for shave

shave

/ʃeɪv/
verb (mainly transitive) shaves, shaving, shaved, shaved, shaven
1.
(also intransitive) to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor
2.
to cut or trim very closely
3.
to reduce to shavings
4.
to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare
5.
to touch or graze in passing
6.
(informal) to reduce (a price) by a slight amount
7.
(US, commerce) to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal
noun
8.
the act or an instance of shaving
9.
any tool for scraping
10.
a thin slice or shaving
11.
an instance of barely touching something
12.
(informal) close shave, a narrow escape
Derived Forms
shavable, shaveable, adjective
Word Origin
Old English sceafan; related to Old Norse skafa, Gothic skaban to shave, Latin scabere to scrape
Word Origin and History for shave
v.

Old English sceafan (strong verb, past tense scof, past participle scafen), "to scrape, shave, polish," from Proto-Germanic *skaban (cf. Old Norse skafa, Middle Dutch scaven, German schaben, Gothic skaban "scratch, shave, scrape"), from PIE *skabh-, collateral form of root *(s)kep- "to cut, to scrape, to hack" (see scabies). Related: Shaved; shaving. Original strong verb status is preserved in past tense form shaven. Specifically in reference to cutting the hair close from mid-13c. Figurative sense of "to strip (someone) of money or possessions" is attested from late 14c.

n.

c.1600, "something shaved off;" from shave (v.); Old English sceafa meant "tool for shaving." Meaning "operation of shaving" is from 1838. Meaning "a grazing touch" is recorded from 1834. Phrase a close shave is from 1856, on notion of "a slight, grazing touch."

Slang definitions & phrases for shave

shave

verb

To reduce: They've shaved the estimate a little (1898+)


shave points

v phr,v

To get a gambling or money advantage by failing to score as much as one could; fraudulently lose a game: Did they think I liked shaving the points? (1971+ Sports & gambling)


Idioms and Phrases with shave

shave

see: close call (shave)