a long narrow strip or fragment torn or cut off a very small piece or amount; scrap
- (transitive)
to tear or cut into shreds - (intransitive)
to play a musical instrument with great speed and skill
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
shred /ʃrɛd/USA pronunciation
n., v., shred•ded or shred, shred•ding.
n. [countable]
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025n. [countable]
- a piece cut or torn off, esp. in a narrow strip.
- a bit;
scrap:not a shred of evidence.
v.
-
- [~ + object] to cut or tear into small pieces:He has a machine that shreds documents.
- [no object] to form shreds, as by being cut or torn:The paper shreds easily.
shred
(shred),USA pronunciation n., v., shred•ded or shred, shred•ding.
n.
v.t.
v.i.
shred′less, adj.
shred′like′, adj.
n.
- a piece cut or torn off, esp. in a narrow strip.
- a bit;
scrap:We haven't got a shred of evidence.
v.t.
- to cut or tear into small pieces, esp. small strips;
reduce to shreds.
v.i.
- to be cut up, torn, etc.:The blouse had shredded.
- bef. 1000; (noun, nominal) Middle English schrede, Old English scrēade; cognate with Old Norse skrjōthr worn-out book, German Schrot chips; (verb, verbal) Middle English schreden, Old English scrēadian to pare, trim; akin to shroud; compare screed
shred′like′, adj.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'in shreds' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):