shears
/ʃɪɹz/noun, verb
shears is spelled S-H-E-A-R-S: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shears means “A tool consisting of two blades with bevel edges, connected by a pivot, used for cutting cloth, or for removing the fleece from sheep etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shears?
| Letters | 6: S-H-E-A-R-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is shears?
Shears appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th 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 shears?
- UK /ʃɪə(ɹ)z/
- US /ʃɪɹz/
Shears has one syllable (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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shears.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with shears
Sounds like: sheers (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with shears?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shears from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹz/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does shears mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tool consisting of two blades with bevel edges, connected by a pivot, used for cutting cloth, or for removing the fleece from sheep etc.
Near-synonym: scissors
- 2
The bedpiece of a machine tool, upon which a table or slide rest is secured.
the shears of a lathe or planer
- 3
An apparatus for raising heavy weights, and especially for stepping and unstepping the lower masts of ships. It consists of two or more spars or pieces of timber, fastened together near the top, steadied by a guy or guys, and furnished with the necessary tackle. Also sheers.
- 4
Anything resembling a pair of shears in shape or motion, such as a pair of wings.
- 5
plural of shear
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of shear
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shears in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tool consisting of two blades with bevel edges:
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.