sheer

SaySHEER/ʃɪɚ/UK/ˈʃɪə/

Noun pluralsheers

Verbsheers, sheering, sheered

11 meanings of sheer

Practice

1
adjective
Used before a noun to show that an amount or feeling is very great.
Like saying "so much" to show that something is really big.
The sheer number of applicants overwhelmed the small office.
She finished the race through sheer willpower.
Similarpure
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2
adjective
So steep that it drops or rises almost straight up and down.
Like the side of a wall going straight up and down.
The climbers stared up at the sheer cliff face.
A sheer drop fell away on the far side of the trail.
Similarsteep, vertical, perpendicular
Oppositegentle, gradual
3
adjective
So thin you can almost see through it, used about cloth.
Like a thin curtain you can see daylight through.
The curtains were so sheer that morning light filled the room.
She wore a sheer scarf draped over her shoulders.
Similarthin, see-through, diaphanous
Oppositeopaque, thick, heavy
Note
4
adjective
Complete and total, with nothing else mixed in.
Like clean water with nothing added to it.
Crossing the bridge in that storm was sheer madness.
What he told the judge was sheer nonsense.
Similarutter, complete, absolute, downright, outright
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5
nouncountable
A thin curtain or piece of cloth you can see through.
Like a thin net hung at a window that you can see through.
A delicate sheer softened the harsh afternoon light.
They replaced the heavy drapes with airy sheers.
Note
6
nouncountable or uncountable
The gentle upward curve of a ship's deck from front to back.
Like the gentle curve of a smile turned upward at the ends.
The yacht's elegant sheer caught every sailor's eye at the marina.
A pronounced sheer gave the wooden hull its classic look.
Note
7
nouncountable
A sudden sideways turn a ship makes off its path.
Like a car suddenly turning to dodge something in the road.
The tug gave a sudden sheer and nearly struck the pier.
A quick sheer to port carried the boat clear of the rocks.
Similarswerve, yaw
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8
verbintransitive
To turn suddenly away from a straight path, as a ship does.
Like a bike suddenly veering off to one side.
The boat began to sheer toward the shallows.
Watch the bow sheer when the current hits it.
Similarswerve, veer, yaw
Note

Less common meanings

9
adjectiveobsolete
Made of one thing only, with nothing mixed in.
Like clean water with nothing else stirred into it.
The goldsmith valued only sheer metal, free of any baser alloy.
If she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lying’st knave in Christendom.
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”Here, sheer means pure, with nothing mixed in.
Similarpure, undiluted
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10
adverbarchaic
Completely and all at once.
Like something being swept clean away in one sweep.
The storm tore the roof sheer off the little cottage.
Descending , and in half cut sheer
1667, John Milton, Paradise LostHere, sheer means completely, all at once.
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11
verbobsolete
Obsolete spelling of shear. An old way of writing the word that means to cut wool or hair from an animal.
So thick, our navy scarce could sheer their way
1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of WondersHere, sheer is an old spelling of shear, to cut.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of sheer apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5, 9–10

From Old English scǣre and scīr, meaning 'pure, clear, bright'. It goes back to old Germanic roots.

Meanings 6–8, 11

Perhaps from Dutch scheren, meaning 'to move aside, skim'.