shred

shred¹ [ʃred] n

[: Old English; Origin: screade]

1.)

a small thin piece that is torn or cut roughly from something

shred of

▪ a shred of paper

tear/rip sth to shreds

▪ The clothes were ripped to shreds and covered in blood.

2.) tear/rip sth to shreds

to criticize someone very severely

▪ Within a year, other researchers had torn the theory to shreds.

3.) in shreds

a) torn in many places

▪ Uncle Earl was exhausted and his shirt hung in shreds.

b) completely ruined

▪ His ambitious plan was in shreds.

▪ If Myra gossips about this, my reputation will be in shreds.

4.) shred of sth

a very small amount of something

▪ There's not a shred of doubt (=no doubt at all) in my mind that we will win.

▪ He does not have a shred of evidence (=none at all) to prove his claim.

▪ the last shred of hope

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HINT sense 4

Usually used with negative words such as not, without, and hardly .

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shred ²

shred² past tense and past participle shredded present participle shredding

v [T]

1.) to cut or tear something into small thin pieces

▪ Coleslaw is made with shredded cabbage.

2.) to put a document into a shredder

▪ Carlson was collecting messages, reading them, then shredding them.