shred
[noun]
Synonyms:
- strip, bit, fragment, piece, scrap, sliver, tatter
- particle, atom, grain, iota, jot, scrap, trace

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English Thesaurus: setback, snag, hitch, trouble, hassle, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. shred¹ /ʃred/ noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: screade]

1. [countable] a small thin piece that is torn or cut roughly from something
shred of
a shred of paper
tear/rip something to shreds
The clothes were ripped to shreds and covered in blood.

2. tear/rip something to shreds to criticize something very severely:
Within a year, other researchers had torn the theory to shreds.

3. in shreds
a) torn in many places:
Uncle Earl was exhausted and his shirt hung in shreds.
b) completely ruined:
His ambitious plan was in shreds.
If Myra gossips about this, my reputation will be in shreds.

4. shred of something a very small amount of something:
There’s not a shred of doubt (=no doubt at all) in my mind that we will win.
He does not have a shred of evidence (=he has no evidence at all) to prove his claim.
the last shred of hope

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. shred² verb (past tense and past participle shredded, present participle shredding) [transitive]

1. to cut or tear something into small thin pieces:
Coleslaw is made with shredded cabbage.

2. to put a document into a shredder:
Carlson was collecting messages, reading them, then shredding them.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shred
noun
I. small thin piece of sth
ADJ. fine, thin | tattered the tattered shreds of their flag
PREP. in/into ~s Cut the orange peel into fine shreds. (figurative) Their economy is in shreds.
~ of leaving just a few shreds of cloth
PHRASES cut/rip/tear sth to shreds (figurative) Their case was torn to shreds by the defence lawyer.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shred
II. very small amount of sth
ADJ. every With her had gone every shred of hope he had for the future.
last, remaining She was hanging on to the last remaining shreds of her reputation.
PREP. ~ of There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that we will win.
PHRASES not a/the slightest shred of sth, not/without a shred of evidence

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shred
verb
ADV. finely Shred the lettuce leaves finely.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

setback a problem that stops you from making progress:
The space program suffered a major setback when the space shuttle, Discovery, exploded.
snag informal a problem, especially one that you had not expected:
There’s a snag – I don’t have his number.
hitch a small problem that delays or prevents something:
There have been a few last-minute hitches.
trouble when something does not work in the way it should:
The plane developed engine trouble.
hassle spoken a situation that is annoying because it causes problems:
Just trying to store all this stuff is a hassle.
tear to damage paper or cloth by pulling it too hard, or letting it touch something sharp:
She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper.
I tore a hole in my jacket, climbing over the fence.
rip to tear something quickly or violently:
Beth excitedly ripped open the package.
Stop pulling my dress! You’ll rip it!
split to tear your trousers or shirt when you put them on, because they are too tight for you:
He bent down and split his trousers.
Oh no, now I’ve split my shirt.
ladder British English if a woman ladders her tights or STOCKINGS, she tears them so that a long thin line appears in them:
Damn! I’ve laddered my tights!
shred to deliberately destroy letters, documents etc by cutting them into thin pieces, often by using a special machine:
In order to prevent fraud, it’s best to shred your bank statements.
I went through all my papers shredding things I didn’t need.
frayed torn a little along the edges – used about clothes, carpets etc that have been used a lot:
He was wearing an old pair of frayed jeans.
The rug was a little frayed around the edges.
The jacket was a little frayed at the cuffs.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

tear to damage paper or cloth by pulling it too hard, or letting it touch something sharp:
She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper.
I tore a hole in my jacket, climbing over the fence.
rip to tear something quickly or violently:
Beth excitedly ripped open the package.
Stop pulling my dress! You’ll rip it!
split to tear your trousers or shirt when you put them on, because they are too tight for you:
He bent down and split his trousers.
Oh no, now I’ve split my shirt.
ladder British English if a woman ladders her tights or STOCKINGS, she tears them so that a long thin line appears in them:
Damn! I’ve laddered my tights!
snag to catch a piece of clothing on something rough or sharp so that it tears slightly:
I snagged my shirt on a nail.
shred to deliberately destroy letters, documents etc by cutting them into thin pieces, often by using a special machine:
In order to prevent fraud, it’s best to shred your bank statements.
I went through all my papers shredding things I didn’t need.
frayed torn a little along the edges – used about clothes, carpets etc that have been used a lot:
He was wearing an old pair of frayed jeans.
The rug was a little frayed around the edges.
The jacket was a little frayed at the cuffs.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲