Shear v. t. [imp. Sheared or Shore p. p. Sheared or Shorn p. pr. & vb. n. Shearing.]
  1. To cut, clip, or sever anything from with shears or a like instrument; as, to shear sheep; to shear cloth.
  Note: ☞ It is especially applied to the cutting of wool from sheep or their skins, and the nap from cloth.
  2. To separate or sever with shears or a similar instrument; to cut off; to clip (something) from a surface; as, to shear a fleece.
     Before the golden tresses . . . were shorn away.   --Shak.
  3. To reap, as grain. [Scot.]
  4. Fig.: To deprive of property; to fleece.
  5. Mech. To produce a change of shape in by a shear. See Shear, n., 4.
  sheared
       adj 1: having the hair or wool cut or clipped off as if with shears
              or clippers; "picked up the baby's shorn curls from
              the floor"; "naked as a sheared sheep" [syn: shorn]
              [ant: unsheared]
       2: (used especially of fur or wool) shaped or finished by
          cutting or trimming to a uniform length; "a coat of
          sheared lamb"