From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshredshred1 /ʃred/ noun 1 [countable]CUTTEAR a small thin piece that is torn or cut roughly from somethingshred of a shred of papertear/rip something to shreds The clothes were ripped to shreds and covered in blood.2 → tear/rip something to shreds3 → in shreds4 → shred of something
Examples from the Corpus
shred• There were nothing but shreds of leaves, gnawed stems, and barren shoots.• By the last sibling it would be in shreds.• There were noises to fear-something substantial ripped from the undercarriage and the thumping of a tire burst into shreds.• A steady breeze sent shreds of cloud tumbling across the face of the moon.• Mix the arrowroot with one teaspoon of cold water and stir into the syrup along with the shreds.• Nor were the crowd to be denied, for they tore the black baize cloth to shreds in their scramble for souvenirs.• Soles of hiking boots would be cut to shreds.• Its springtime for President Bill Clinton as he watches his Republican challengers rip each other to shreds.shred of• a shred of papershredshred2 verb (shredded, shredding) [transitive] 1 CUTTEARto cut or tear something into small thin pieces Coleslaw is made with shredded cabbage.► see thesaurus at tear2 DESTROYto put a document into a shredder Carlson was collecting messages, reading them, then shredding them.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
shred• Some photographs and important documents -- the only evidence available -- had been shredded.• The superintendent gave his secretary some letters to shred.• Other than the chance to rip it to shreds.• A few croutons, some red cabbage shreds and a few wedges of tomato unimaginatively rounded things out.• It had claws like an eagle talons; she could hear them shredding and splintering the wood.• Wheels spun free and shredded carbon-fibre debris from disintegrating front wings flew in all directions.• Then he took what I said, shredded it, tore it apart, used all the correct, adult legal terms.• To serve, top each tortilla with shredded lettuce and divide shrimp mixture evenly over lettuce on each tortilla.• Remove the outside leaves and shred the cabbage finely.• He had told his secretary to shred the memo.• Shred the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle it on the pizza.• Millions of these books are shredded yearly or allowed to rot and gather dust in purgatorial existence.From Longman Business Dictionaryshredshred /ʃred/ (shredded, shredding) verb [transitive] to cut documents into small pieces so that no one can read themInvestigators retrieved documents that had been thrown away or shredded.→ See Verb tableOrigin shred1 Old English screade 