shear

US /ʃɪr/
UK /ʃɪr/
"shear" picture
1.

cut the wool off (a sheep or other animal)

:
The farmer will shear the sheep next week.
It takes skill to shear a sheep quickly and efficiently.
2.

break off or cause to break off, owing to a shearing stress

:
The strong winds caused the top of the tree to shear off.
The bolt began to shear under the immense pressure.
1.

a strain produced by pressure in the structure of a substance, when its layers are subject to a lateral force causing them to slide over each other

:
The engineer calculated the shear stress on the beam.
The bridge design must account for shear forces.
2.

the act or an instance of shearing wool from sheep

:
The annual shear is an important event for sheep farmers.
He watched the skilled worker perform the shear with precision.