sheet

¹

[ sheet ]

noun

1. a large rectangular piece of cotton, linen, or other material used as an article of bedding, commonly spread in pairs so that one is immediately above and the other immediately below the sleeper.
2. a broad, relatively thin, surface, layer, or covering.
3. a relatively thin, usually rectangular form, piece, plate, or slab, as of photographic film, glass, metal, etc.
4. material, as metal or glass, in the form of broad, relatively thin pieces.
5. a sail, as on a ship or boat.
6. a rectangular piece of paper or parchment, especially one on which to write.
7. a newspaper or periodical.
8. Printing and Bookbinding. a large, rectangular piece of printing paper, especially one for printing a complete signature.
9. Philately. the impression from a plate or the like on a single sheet of paper before any division of the paper into individual stamps.
10. an extent, stretch, or expanse, as of fire or water:

    sheets of flame.

11. a thin, flat piece of metal or a very shallow pan on which to place food while baking.
12. Geology. a more or less horizontal mass of rock, especially volcanic rock intruded between strata or poured out over a surface.
13. Mathematics.
    1. one of the separate pieces making up a geometrical surface:

       a hyperboloid of two sheets.

    2. one of the planes or pieces of planes making up a Riemann surface.
14. Crystallography. a type of crystal structure, as in mica, in which certain atoms unite strongly in two dimensions to form a layer that is weakly joined to others.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a sheet or sheets.
2. to wrap in a sheet.
3. to cover with a sheet or layer of something.

sheet

²

[ sheet ]

noun

1. Nautical.
   1. a rope or chain for extending the clews of a square sail along a yard.
   2. a rope for trimming a fore-and-aft sail.
   3. a rope or chain for extending the lee clew of a course.

verb (used with object)

1. Nautical. to trim, extend, or secure by means of a sheet or sheets.

sheet

¹

/ ʃiːt /

noun

1. a large rectangular piece of cotton, linen, etc, generally one of a pair used as inner bedclothes
2. 1. a thin piece of a substance such as paper, glass, or metal, usually rectangular in form
   2. ( as modifier )

      sheet iron

3. a broad continuous surface; expanse or stretch

   a sheet of rain

4. a newspaper, esp a tabloid
5. a piece of printed paper to be folded into a section for a book
6. a page of stamps, usually of one denomination and already perforated
7. any thin tabular mass of rock covering a large area

verb

1. tr to provide with, cover, or wrap in a sheet
2. intr (of rain, snow, etc) to fall heavily

sheet

²

/ ʃiːt /

noun

1. nautical a line or rope for controlling the position of a sail relative to the wind

Other Words From

• sheetless adjective
• sheetlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sheet¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English shete, shet(te) “length of cloth, piece of linen,” Old English scīte, scēte, scȳte, scīete “garment, cloth, napkin”

Origin of sheet²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English shete, seate, shortening of Old English scēatlīne “sheet of a sail,” equivalent to scēat(a) “corner, angle, lower corner of a sail” + līne “rope”; cognate with Low German schote; sheet ¹, line ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sheet¹

Old English sciete; related to sceat corner, lap, Old Norse skaut, Old High German scōz lap

Origin of sheet²

Old English scēata corner of a sail; related to Middle Low German schōte rope attached to a sail; see sheet ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. three sheets in / to the wind, Slang. intoxicated ( def 1 ).

More idioms and phrases containing sheet

see three sheets to the wind ; white as a sheet .

Example Sentences

"It has not, however, yet developed a human-like sense of touch that can discern, for example, a rough sheet of newspaper paper from a smooth and glossy sheet of magazine paper."

From Science Daily

You don't get that many opportunities in these great environments to get a victory and a clean sheet against Manchester City - one of the best teams in Europe.

From BBC

Two sources said last month that sheriff’s officials appeared to be taking interest, reviewing time sheets from certain units and asking pointed questions about outside employment.

From Los Angeles Times

We could write messages or slogans on sheets of paper, which were read aloud and improvised and danced to.

From Los Angeles Times

She starts on plain lined sheets, then she transposes the keepers to “scalloped paper plates.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• blanket
• coat
• foil
• layer
• leaf
• piece
• plate
• slab
• surface