To cut the wool off a sheep or to cut something similar away using a sharp tool
Examples:
The farmer had to shear the flock before summer.Without the proper tools, trying to shear the sheep became a task.In spring, it's customary to shear the wool from alpacas.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sheer
/ʃɪə/
Used to emphasize a large amount or degree of something, or to describe something that is completely clear or steep.
Examples:
By sheer audacity.It was sheer jugglery of fate.The first side is, sheer Insolence.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
"Shear" often involves cutting, like when you shear sheep for their wool.
"Sheer" can describe something very thin or almost transparent, like sheer fabric.
"Sheer" can also mean steep or absolute, such as a sheer cliff or sheer determination.
Remember that the extra e in "sheer" might remind you of a cliff's edge, or of elegance, hinting at transparency or steepness.
"Shear" with its single e is a straightforward word, much like the direct act of cutting.