shear off

phrasal verb

sheared off; sheared off or shorn off; shearing off; shears off

1

: to become separated suddenly because of great force

The excess weight caused the bolt to shear off.

2

: to remove (something) with great force

The impact of the crash sheared off the airplane's wing.

Examples of shear off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Strong winds high up in the atmosphere − 30,000 feet or higher − blowing eastward across the Atlantic can shear off the tops of systems and prevent hurricanes from stacking up those cloud formations. —Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 6 June 2025

Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the crash, which sheared off the right side of the bus and injured 12 aboard, was preventable. —John O'Connor, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025

Just for the record, Patrick Mahomes didn’t get his iconic mohawk sheared off to purge that 40-22 drubbing by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. —Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2025

Within seconds, the 230-foot, 356-ton plane broke apart in midair, the nose cone shearing off like the lid of a tin can. —Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 20 May 2025

Rhymes for shear off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff