shred

1 of 2

noun

ˈshred 

 especially Southern  ˈsred

1

a

: a long narrow strip cut or torn off

b

shreds plural : a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition

a reputation torn to shreds

2

: particle, scrap

not a shred of evidence

shred

2 of 2

verb

shredded; shredding; shreds

1

transitive : to cut or tear (something) into shreds

shredded the documents

2

transitive : demolish sense 2

… sharp lawyers shredding hapless witnesses on live television …

—Charles Krauthammer

3

intransitive : to come apart in or break into shreds

The cloth had shredded.

4

a

intransitive : to ski or engage in a board sport (such as snowboarding, skateboarding, or surfing) with exceptional skill

At its regular meeting Monday, the Cullman City Council signed off on constructing a place where skateboarders can … shred … and ollie to their hearts' content.

—Benjamin Bullard

b

transitive : to shred on (a surface)

For fans of snow sports, Beach Mountain Resort, Sugar Mountain Resort and Appalachian Ski Mountain offer sweet powdery slopes to shred.

—Luke Weir

At one point, Paul was thought by many to be the best surfer on the planet, a guy who had the rare ability to totally shred waves with radical moves and yet do it very gracefully and with a beautiful flowing style.

—Corky Carroll

5

transitive + intransitive : to play an electric guitar with great skill and speed

She shreds on guitar and has the voice of an angel.

—Rachel Stone

… this child musician has to be able to shred the guitar at an adult, professional level.

—Kerry Clawson

6

transitive archaic : to cut off

shredder noun

Synonyms

Noun

• ace
• bit
• crumb
• dab
• dram
• driblet
• glimmer
• hint
• lick
• little
• mite
• nip
• ounce
• particle
• peanuts
• ray
• scintilla
• scruple
• shade
• shadow
• skosh
• smack
• smell
• smidgen
• smidgeon
• smidgin
• smidge
• snap
• soupçon
• spark
• spatter
• speck
• splash
• spot
• sprinkling
• strain
• streak
• suspicion
• tad
• touch
• trace

Verb

• rend
• ribbon
• rip
• rive
• tatter
• tear

Examples of shred in a Sentence

Noun

The wallpaper is in shreds.

His reputation was in shreds after the arrest.

He struggled to retain a shred of his dignity.

Verb

Shred the cabbage and add it to the salad.

shredded some cooked chicken for the soup

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Hundreds of commenters who had never met the couple thanked her for the shred of good news. —Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025

The record’s new-wave ditties are an amalgamation of strange but immediately identifiable components, chimeras of ’60s pop à la Lesley Gore and the frenzied shred of a skateboarding compilation. —Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024

Verb

New York Giants co-owner John Mara shredded the defense the day after the season ended. —Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

Sweetened shredded coconut: Brings some toothsome texture and essence and taste of coconut throughout the cake. —Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English shrede, from Old English scrēade; akin to Old High German scrōt piece cut off

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

shred

1 of 2 noun

ˈshred 

1

a

: a long narrow piece cut or torn off : scrap

shreds of cloth

b

plural : a shredded, damaged, or ruined condition

the loss tore his confidence to shreds

reputation was in shreds

2

: a small amount : bit

not a shred of evidence

shred

2 of 2 verb

shredded; shredding

: to cut or tear into shreds

shred paper

shred cabbage

shredder noun