shearing
adjective, noun, verb
shearing is spelled S-H-E-A-R-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shearing means “Tending to cut or tear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shearing?
| Letters | 8: S-H-E-A-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shearing?
Shearing appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shearing?
Shearing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of shearing
- shearings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shearing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to cut or tear.
noun
- 1
The act or operation of removing the fleece from a sheep, llama etc. with shears or a shearing machine
- 2
The removal of nap from cloth.
- 3
The material cut off in this way.
the whole shearing of a flock; the shearings from cloth
- 4
Deformation by forces acting in opposite directions.
- 5
Alternative form of shearling.
- 6
ScotlandThe act or operation of reaping.
- 7
The act or operation of dividing with shears.
the shearing of metal plates
- 8
The process of preparing shear steel; tilting.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of shear
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shearing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of clipping fur/hair with shears:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tonte, tondaison |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shearing come from?
From Middle English scherynge; equivalent to shear + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).