shave

shave¹ S3 [ʃeıv] v

↑razor, ↑shaving cream, ↑towel

[: Old English; Origin: scafan]

1.) [I and T]

to cut off hair very close to the skin, especially from the face, using a ↑razor

▪ He hadn't shaved for days.

▪ Brian had cut himself shaving .

shave your head/legs/armpits etc

▪ She shaved her legs and underarms.

2.) [T]

to remove very thin pieces from the surface of something

▪ Shave thin strips of cheese over the pasta.

shave off [shave sth<=>off] phr v

1.) to remove hair by shaving

▪ I've decided to shave off my beard.

2.) also shave sth off sth

to remove very thin pieces from the surface of something, using a knife or other cutting tool

▪ I had to shave a few millimetres off the bottom of the door to make it shut.

3.) also shave sth off sth

if you shave a small amount off something such as a price or a record, you make the price slightly smaller or the record time slightly shorter

▪ She shaved half a second off the world record.

shave ²

shave² n [C usually singular]

1.) if a man has a shave, he cuts off the hair on his face close to his skin using a ↑razor

▪ He looked as if he needed a shave.

have a shave BrE

▪ I'll just have a shave before we go.

2.) a close shave

a situation in which you only just avoid an accident or something

▪ Phew, that was a close shave.