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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

shred.

A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ʃɹɛd/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.

    There isn’t a shred of evidence to support his claims.
  2. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.

  3. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing. A thin strand or wisp, as of a cloud, mist, etc.

    broadly
  4. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing. A thin strip of fruit peel, a vegetable, etc., cut so that it curls.

  5. A piece of gold or silver lace or thread.

    archaic
  6. A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”).

    rare
  7. A tailor.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English shrede, shred (“fragment, piece, scrap; piece cut off from something; strip of material; ornamental strip hanging from the edge of a garment; thread; band or thread woven in a garment; element, streak; plant (?)”) [and other forms], from Late Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“piece cut off from something; a paring; a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a crack; a cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). Doublet of escrow.

verb/ʃɹɛd/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. To cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips.

    transitive
  2. To destroy (a document) by cutting or tearing into strips or small pieces that cannot easily be read, especially using a shredder.

    specifically · transitive
  3. To cut (fruit peel, a vegetable, etc.) into thin strips that curl.

    specifically · transitive
  4. To separate (something) into small portions.

    transitive
  5. To reduce (something) by a large percentage; to slash.

    figuratively · slang · transitive
  6. Chiefly in rock and heavy metal: to play (a musical instrument (especially a guitar) or a piece of music) very fast and in a way that requires technical skill.

    figuratively · slang · transitive
  7. To cut through (snow, water, etc.) swiftly with one's snowboard, surfboard, etc.; (by extension) to move or ride along (a road, track, etc.) aggressively and rapidly.

    figuratively · slang · transitive
  8. To convincingly defeat (someone); to thrash, to trounce.

    figuratively · slang · transitive
  9. To cut or sever (something) into two parts.

    archaic · transitive
  10. To chop or cut (something) into pieces.

    obsolete · transitive
  11. To cut, lop, or strip (branches, etc.) off; also, to cut (a piece) from something.

    obsolete · transitive
  12. To prune or trim (a tree, a vineyard, etc.).

    obsolete · transitive
  13. To become separated into small portions.

    intransitive
  14. To reduce body weight due to fat and water before a competition.

    intransitive
  15. To travel swiftly using a snowboard, surfboard, or vehicle.

    intransitive · usually
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Middle English shreden, shred (“to chop, cut up; to cut, hack; to wound with a knife; to cut off a part of (something); to prune, trim”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrēadian (“to cut up, shred; to cut off; to prune, trim”), from Proto-West Germanic *skraudōn, related to Proto-West Germanic *skraudan (“to cut up; to shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudaną (“to cut up; to shred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). The adjective is derived from the past participle form of the verb.

adj/ʃɹɛd/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Synonym of shredded (“cut or torn into narrow strips or small pieces”).

Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Middle English shreden, shred (“to chop, cut up; to cut, hack; to wound with a knife; to cut off a part of (something); to prune, trim”) [and other forms], from Old English sċrēadian (“to cut up, shred; to cut off; to prune, trim”), from Proto-West Germanic *skraudōn, related to Proto-West Germanic *skraudan (“to cut up; to shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudaną (“to cut up; to shred”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). The adjective is derived from the past participle form of the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.