shred

[shred] /ʃrɛd/

noun

a piece cut or torn off, especially in a narrow strip.

a bit; scrap:

We haven't got a shred of evidence.

verb (used with object), shredded or shred, shredding.

to cut or tear into small pieces, especially small strips; reduce to shreds.

verb (used without object), shredded or shred, shredding.

to be cut up, torn, etc.:

The blouse had shredded.

Origin

before 1000; (noun) Middle English schrede, Old English scrēade; cognate with Old Norse skrjōthr worn-out book, German Schrot chips; (v.) Middle English schreden, Old English scrēadian to pare, trim; akin to shroud; cf. screed

Related forms

shredless, adjective

shredlike, adjective

unshredded, adjective

Examples from the web for shred

Peel the potato and shred it into long strands onto a clean tea towel.
There is no shred of observational evidence that what this article tries to sell has any merit whatsoever.
If you have a strong, large-capacity bagging mower, you can use it to pick up and shred leaves.
shred pre-approved credit-card offers before tossing them in the garbage.
They dutifully proceeded to shred the subjunctive, despite the continuing din of power drills.
In it he manages to take down a half-dozen groups in contemporary society without a shred of fear or equivocation.
Anyone with any shred of intelligence knows which is high and which is low culture.
There isn't a shred of evidence, no track record of safety or scientific expertise.
Science isn't you making conflicting claims without a shred of evidence.
Before his eyes a leopard seal-sometimes only inches away-would shred a penguin, or offer it to him whole.

British Dictionary definitions for shred

shred

/ʃrɛd/

noun

a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off

a very small piece or amount; scrap

verb shreds, shredding, shredded, shred

(transitive) to tear or cut into shreds

Derived Forms

shredder, noun

Word Origin

Old English scread; related to Old Norse skrjōthr torn-up book, Old High German scrōt cut-off piece; see scroll, shroud, screed

Word Origin and History for shred

Old English screade "piece cut off, cutting, scrap," from West Germanic *skrauth- (cf. Old Frisian skred "a cutting, clipping," Middle Dutch schroode "shred," Middle Low German schrot "piece cut off," Old High German scrot, "scrap, shred, a cutting, piece cut off," German Schrot ""log, block, small shot"," Old Norse skrydda "shriveled skin"), from PIE *skreu- "to cut; cutting tool," extension of root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear (v.)).

Old English screadian "to peel, prune, cut off," from Proto-Germanic *skrauth- (cf. Middle Dutch scroden, Dutch schroeien, Old High German scrotan, German schroten "to shred"), from root of shred (n.). Meaning "cut or tear into shreds" is from 1610s. Related: Shredded; shredding.