# shed

Pronunciation: say "SHED" /ʃɛd/

## Noun

1. A small, simple outbuilding, often open at the front, used to store things or shelter them.
   - Simple: A small building used to store tools or to keep things out of the rain.
   - _The gardener stored rakes and pots in a small shed at the edge of the yard._
   - _They sheltered from the storm under an open-fronted shed beside the field._
5. A large, temporary open-sided structure used for receiving and holding goods.
   - Simple: A big open building where goods are received and kept.
   - _Dockworkers stacked imported goods inside the long reception shed._
   - _The freight shed by the railway took in shipments all morning._
8. A dismissive word for an old, worn-out, slow, or poor-quality car. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: A car that is old, slow, and falling apart.
   - _Why are you still driving that old shed around town?_
   - _The mechanic laughed at the rattling shed in the driveway._
9. A heavy diesel-electric freight locomotive of the British Rail Class 66 type. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: A kind of large diesel engine that pulls trains in Britain.
   - _The shed hauled a lengthy freight train through the junction._
   - _Two sheds were coupled together for the heavy climb._
10. Alternative form of woodshed. *(slang)* — Alternative form of woodshed.
   - Simple: Alternative form of woodshed. Among musicians, a private place to practice hard.
   - _The young saxophonist disappeared into the shed for the whole summer._
   - _Time in the shed turned his rough technique into something fluid._
13. The opening between the upper and lower warp yarns on a loom, through which the weft is passed.
   - Simple: The open space between two sets of threads on a loom, where another thread is passed through.
   - _The weaver raised the heddles to open the shed._
   - _A clean shed lets the shuttle pass without snagging the warp._
16. A tract of land regarded as separate or distinct from the land around it.
   - Simple: A piece of land that is seen as separate from the land around it.
17. A unit of area equal to 10⁻⁵² square meters, used in nuclear physics.
   - Simple: A very small unit of area used by scientists who study atoms.
   - _A single shed is an almost unimaginably small area._
   - _Cross-sections measured in sheds describe extremely rare nuclear interactions._

## Verb

2. To cast off or let fall something, such as leaves, skin, or an outer layer.
   - Simple: To let something fall away from you or get rid of it, like leaves or skin.
   - _Deciduous trees shed their leaves as winter approaches._
   - _The company shed hundreds of jobs during the downturn last year._
3. To radiate or cast light, sending it outward from a source.
   - Simple: To give off light or send it out from a source.
   - _The full moon shed a pale light across the fields._
   - _These bulbs shed a warm glow throughout the room._
4. To let a liquid such as tears or blood flow or fall.
   - Simple: To let a liquid flow or fall.
   - _He shed bitter tears when he heard the verdict._
   - _They vowed never to shed innocent blood._
6. To part, separate, or divide something into distinct portions. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: To split or divide something into separate parts.
   - _The farmer shed the flock into two pens before market._
   - _Up north they still shed their hair with a bone comb._
7. To sprinkle, scatter, or spread something over or through an area.
   - Simple: To sprinkle or scatter something over a surface.
   - _The baker shed flour across the board before rolling the dough._
   - _They shed seeds evenly over the freshly turned soil._
11. To practice a piece of music intensively, especially alone, until it is mastered.
   - Simple: To practice a piece of music over and over until you master it.
   - _He shed the tricky passage for hours before the recording._
   - _They shed their parts alone before rehearsing together._
12. To place or assign a vehicle, such as a locomotive, to a particular depot or shed.
   - Simple: To put a vehicle, like a railway engine, into a depot, or to give it a home depot.
   - _Planners decided to shed the new diesel units at the northern depot, close to the lines they would work._
   - _During the winter the snowplow locomotives were shedded at the hill depot, ready for the first storm._
14. To separate the warp threads on a loom so as to open a passage, called a shed, through which the shuttle passes.
   - Simple: To split the threads on a loom into two sets, making a gap for the cross-thread.
   - _Looms shed the warp automatically on every pick._
   - _The mechanism must shed the threads cleanly before the shuttle flies across._

## Verb

15. To pour out a liquid; to cause it to flow. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To pour out a liquid, or make it flow.
   - _The servants shed wine into the great basin for the feast._
   - _She bade them shed fresh water across the altar stone._
21. To send out, give off, or pass on something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To pour out or give off something.
22. To come down in drops, or to pour down. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To fall in drops, or pour down.

## Noun

18. A distinction, or a line that divides one thing from another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A line or point that separates one thing from another.
19. The line along which the hair is parted and combed to either side. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The line where hair is combed to split it into two sides.
   - _She combed a neat shed down the center of her hair._
   - _His hair fell in waves on either side of a sharp shed._
20. The crown, or topmost part of the head. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The very top part of a person's head.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–4, 6–7, 14–15, 21–22** — From Middle English scheden, from Old English scēadan ("to separate, divide, distinguish"), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan and Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *skeyt- meaning "to cut, part, divide." It is related to words like Dutch and German scheiden and Ancient Greek skhízō ("to split").
**Meanings 13, 16, 18–20** — From Middle English sched, from a combination of Old English scēada ("a parting of the hair, top of the head") and ġesċēad ("distinction, reason").
**Meanings 1, 5, 8–12, 17** — A dialectal variant of a specialized use of shade.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shed (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).