shear

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A shear is a tool used for cutting through objects, typically with sharp blades that move against each other.

Shears are commonly used for everyday tasks like trimming bushes or scissors-style shears for cutting hair. Many people also use electric shears for gardening and landscaping work - think about mowing your lawn! If you have a pair of sharp shears in the kitchen, they're likely used for food preparation too, helping to slice through ingredients with ease.

How common is "shear"?

Word shear is considered uncommon in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

verb

(intransitive, transitive) To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping.
Example: shear the llamas
To cut the hair of (a person).
Example: shear the afro off someone's head
To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
(physics) To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
(aviation, meteorology, intransitive, of wind) To change in direction or speed.
(mathematics) To transform by displacing every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point’s distance from the line.
(mining, intransitive) To make a vertical cut in coal.
(engineering) (also 'shear off') To break or suddenly separate because of excessive force, eg. a bolt.
(Scotland) To reap, as grain.
(figurative) To deprive of property; to fleece.