Library / English Dictionary

SHED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: shed    , shedding   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An outbuilding with a single story; used for shelter or storage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("shed" is a kind of...):

outbuilding (a building that is subordinate to and separate from a main building)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shed"):

apiary; bee house (a shed containing a number of beehives)

boathouse (a shed at the edge of a river or lake; used to store boats)

coal house (a shed for storing coal)

toolhouse; toolshed (a shed for storing tools)

woodshed (a shed for storing firewood or garden tools)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shed at an early stage of development

Example:

the caducous calyx of a poppy

Synonyms:

caducous; shed

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

deciduous ((of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers

Example:

our dog sheds every Spring

Synonyms:

exuviate; molt; moult; shed; slough

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "shed" is one way to...):

cast; cast off; drop; shake off; shed; throw; throw away; throw off (get rid of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shed"):

desquamate; peel off (peel off in scales)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

shedding (the process whereby something is shed)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Get rid of

Example:

shed your clothes

Synonyms:

cast; cast off; drop; shake off; shed; throw; throw away; throw off

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shed" is one way to...):

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shed"):

exuviate; molt; moult; shed; slough (cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers)

abscise (shed flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of a scar tissue)

exfoliate (cast off in scales, laminae, or splinters)

autotomise; autotomize (cause a body part to undergo autotomy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over

Example:

spill the beans all over the table

Synonyms:

disgorge; shed; spill

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shed" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Verb group:

slop; spill; splatter (cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "shed"):

seed (go to seed; shed seeds)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Pour out in drops or small quantities or as if in drops or small quantities

Example:

God shed His grace on Thee

Synonyms:

pour forth; shed; spill

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "shed" is one way to...):

pour (cause to run)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

We thought that very massive stars with the chemical composition typical of our galaxy must shed most of their gas in powerful stellar winds, as they approach the end of their life.

(Unpredicted stellar black hole discovered by astronomers, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

There she sat—and who would have guessed how many tears she had been lately shedding?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

These differences in atmospheric composition shed light on questions about the planets' formation and history.

(What Uranus Cloud Tops Have in Common With Rotten Eggs, NASA)

Studies of simpler organisms such as butterflies can shed light on how our own behaviour has evolved.

(Butterflies are genetically wired to choose a mate that looks just like them, University of Cambridge)

He seemed to think it too good for common purposes: it was the real sunshine of feeling—he shed it over me now.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A better understanding of how the BNST and hypothalamus work to coordinate emotion-related behavior could shed light on the emotional processes dysregulated in addiction.

(Researchers identify key brain circuits for reward-seeking and avoidance behavior, National Institutes of Health)

Nor could she leave the place in which Willoughby remained, busy in new engagements, and new schemes, in which SHE could have no share, without shedding many tears.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

This allele, which encodes disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10, is involved in the modulation of plasma membrane protein shedding.

(ADAM10 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

On such occasions his elbows were on his knees, his hands clasped above his head as though to shed rain by the hairy arms.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The comet's nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers), shedding material hurtling at about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per second, relative to Mars and Mars-orbiting spacecraft.

(Mars spacecraft prepare for close comet flyby, NASA)