Sheer Definition & Meaning | Bay Area Crosswords

About The Word Sheer

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Sheer

Sheer Definition And Meaning
What's The Definition Of Sheer? [adv] directly; "he fell sheer into the water" [adv] straight up or down without a break [adj] very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front; "a bluff headland"; "where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise"; "a sheer descent of rock" [adj] not mixed with extraneous elements; "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing" [adj] so thin as to transmit light; "a hat with a diaphanous veil"; "filmy wings of a moth"; "gauzy clouds of dandelion down"; "gossamer cobwebs"; "sheer silk stockings"; "transparent chiffon"; "vaporous silks" [v] cause to sheer; "She sheered her car around the obstacle" [v] turn sharply; change direction abruptly; "The car cut to the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the right" Synonyms \| Synonyms for Sheer: bluff \| bold \| cobwebby \| curve \| cut \| diaphanous \| filmy \| gauzy \| gossamer \| perpendicularly \| plain \| pure \| see-through \| slew \| slue \| steep \| swerve \| thin \| transparent \| trend \| unmingled \| unmixed \| vaporous \| veer Related Terms \| Find terms related to Sheer: See Also \| channelise \| channelize \| direct \| guide \| head \| maneuver \| manoeuvre \| peel off \| point \| steer \| turn \| yaw Sheer In Webster's Dictionary \Sheer\, a. [OE. shere, skere, pure, bright, Icel. sk?rr; akin to sk[=i]rr, AS. sc[=i]r, OS. sk[=i]ri, MHG. sch[=i]r, G. schier, Dan. sk?r, Sw. sk["a]r, Goth. skeirs clear, and E. shine. [root]157. See {Shine}, v. i.] 1. Bright; clear; pure; unmixed. ``Sheer ale.'' --Shak. Thou sheer, immaculate, and silver fountain. --Shak. 2. Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer muslin. 3. Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere; downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense. ``A sheer impossibility.'' --De Quincey. It is not a sheer advantage to have several strings to one's bow. --M. Arnold. 4. Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular. A sheer precipice of a thousand feet. --J. D. Hooker. It was at least Nine roods of sheer ascent. --Wordsworth. \Sheer\, adv. Clean; quite; at once. [Obs.] --Milton. \Sheer\, v. t. [See {Shear}.] To shear. [Obs.] --Dryden. \Sheer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sheered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sheering}.] [D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See {Shear}.] To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a horse sheers at a bicycle. {To sheer off}, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move away. {To sheer up}, to approach obliquely. \Sheer\, n. 1. (Naut.) (a) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck, gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from the side. (b) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and swinging clear of it. 2. A turn or change in a course. Give the canoe a sheer and get nearer to the shore. --Cooper. 3. pl. Shears See {Shear}. {Sheer batten} (Shipbuilding), a long strip of wood to guide the carpenters in following the sheer plan. {Sheer boom}, a boom slanting across a stream to direct floating logs to one side. {Sheer hulk}. See {Shear hulk}, under {Hulk}. {Sheer plan}, or {Sheer draught} (Shipbuilding), a projection of the lines of a vessel on a vertical longitudinal plane passing through the middle line of the vessel. {Sheer pole} (Naut.), an iron rod lashed to the shrouds just above the dead-eyes and parallel to the ratlines. {Sheer strake} (Shipbuilding), the strake under the gunwale on the top side. --Totten. {To break sheer} (Naut.), to deviate from sheer, and risk fouling the anchor.

Sheer Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Sheer?

[adv] directly; "he fell sheer into the water"
[adv] straight up or down without a break
[adj] very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front; "a bluff headland"; "where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise"; "a sheer descent of rock"
[adj] not mixed with extraneous elements; "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"
[adj] so thin as to transmit light; "a hat with a diaphanous veil"; "filmy wings of a moth"; "gauzy clouds of dandelion down"; "gossamer cobwebs"; "sheer silk stockings"; "transparent chiffon"; "vaporous silks"
[v] cause to sheer; "She sheered her car around the obstacle"
[v] turn sharply; change direction abruptly; "The car cut to the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the right"

Related Terms | Find terms related to Sheer:

Sheer In Webster's Dictionary

\Sheer\, a. [OE. shere, skere, pure, bright, Icel. sk?rr;
akin to sk[=i]rr, AS. sc[=i]r, OS. sk[=i]ri, MHG. sch[=i]r,
G. schier, Dan. sk?r, Sw. sk["a]r, Goth. skeirs clear, and E.
shine. [root]157. See {Shine}, v. i.]
1. Bright; clear; pure; unmixed. ``Sheer ale.'' --Shak.

         Thou sheer, immaculate, and silver fountain. --Shak.

2. Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer
   muslin.

3. Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere;
   downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense. ``A sheer
   impossibility.'' --De Quincey.

         It is not a sheer advantage to have several strings
         to one's bow.                         --M. Arnold.

4. Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular.

         A sheer precipice of a thousand feet. --J. D.
                                               Hooker.

         It was at least Nine roods of sheer ascent.
                                               --Wordsworth.


\Sheer\, adv.
Clean; quite; at once. [Obs.] --Milton.


\Sheer\, v. t. [See {Shear}.]
To shear. [Obs.] --Dryden.


\Sheer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sheered}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Sheering}.] [D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See
{Shear}.]
To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to
turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a
horse sheers at a bicycle.

{To sheer off}, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move
   away.

{To sheer up}, to approach obliquely.


\Sheer\, n.
1. (Naut.)
   (a) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck,
       gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from
       the side.
   (b) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and
       swinging clear of it.

2. A turn or change in a course.

         Give the canoe a sheer and get nearer to the shore.
                                               --Cooper.

3. pl. Shears See {Shear}.

{Sheer batten} (Shipbuilding), a long strip of wood to guide
   the carpenters in following the sheer plan.

{Sheer boom}, a boom slanting across a stream to direct
   floating logs to one side.

{Sheer hulk}. See {Shear hulk}, under {Hulk}.

{Sheer plan}, or {Sheer draught} (Shipbuilding), a projection
   of the lines of a vessel on a vertical longitudinal plane
   passing through the middle line of the vessel.

{Sheer pole} (Naut.), an iron rod lashed to the shrouds just
   above the dead-eyes and parallel to the ratlines.

{Sheer strake} (Shipbuilding), the strake under the gunwale
   on the top side. --Totten.

{To break sheer} (Naut.), to deviate from sheer, and risk
   fouling the anchor.

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