# shred

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɹɛd/ · frequency rank #19,203

## Definitions
1. A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount.
2. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
3. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
4. A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing.
5. A piece of gold or silver lace or thread.
6. A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”).
7. A tailor.

## Etymology
From Middle English shrede, shred (“fragment, piece, scrap; piece cut off from something; strip of material; ornamental strip hanging from the edge of a garment; thread; band or thread woven in a garment; element, streak; plant (?)”) [and other forms], from Late Old English sċrēad, sċrēade (“piece cut off from something; a paring; a shred”), from Proto-Germanic *skraudō (“a piece, shred; a crack; a cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”). Doublet of escrow.

## Easily confused with
- **sure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sure)
- **sore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sore)
- **sued** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sued)
- **Shri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shri)
- **sire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sire)
- **sped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sped)
- **sled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sled)
- **speed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-speed)
- **sized** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sized)
- **sided** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sided)
- **spree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-spree)
- **siren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-siren)
- **shrug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shrug)
- **Shrek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shrek)
- **shrub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shrub)
- **steed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-steed)
- **shrew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-shrew)
- **strep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-strep)
- **sowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-sowed)
- **spread** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shred-vs-spread)

## Common misspellings (8)
`hsred`, `sherd`, `shhred`, `shrde`, `shredd`, `shrred`, `srhed`, `sshred`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shred