shave

[ sheyv ]

verb (used without object)

, shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shav·en, shav·ing.

1. to remove a growth of beard with a razor.

verb (used with object)

, shaved, shaved or (especially in combination) shav·en, shav·ing.

1. to remove hair from (the face, legs, etc.) by cutting it off close to the skin with a razor.
2. to cut off (hair, especially the beard) close to the skin with a razor (often followed by off or away ).
3. to cut or scrape away the surface of with a sharp-edged tool:

   to shave hides in preparing leather.

4. to reduce to shavings or thin slices:

   to shave wood.

5. to cut or trim closely:

   to shave a lawn.

6. to scrape, graze, or come very near to:

   The car just shaved the garage door.

   Synonyms: touch, glance, brush

7. Commerce. to purchase (a note) at a rate of discount greater than is legal or customary.
8. to reduce or deduct from:

   The store shaved the price of winter suits in the spring.

noun

1. the act, process, or an instance of shaving or being shaved.
2. a thin slice; a shaving.
3. any of various tools for shaving, scraping, removing thin slices, etc.

shave

/ ʃeɪv /

verb

1. also intr to remove (the beard, hair, etc) from (the face, head, or body) by scraping the skin with a razor
2. to cut or trim very closely
3. to reduce to shavings
4. to remove thin slices from (wood, etc) with a sharp cutting tool; plane or pare
5. to touch or graze in passing
6. informal.
   to reduce (a price) by a slight amount
7. commerce to purchase (a commercial paper) at a greater rate of discount than is customary or legal

noun

1. the act or an instance of shaving
2. any tool for scraping
3. a thin slice or shaving
4. an instance of barely touching something
5. close shave informal.
   a narrow escape

Derived Forms

• ˈshavable, adjective

Other Words From

• shava·ble shavea·ble adjective
• re·shave verb reshaved reshaving
• un·shava·ble adjective
• un·shavea·ble adjective
• un·shaved adjective
• well-shaved adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shave¹

before 900; (v.) Middle English schaven, schafen, Old English sc ( e ) afan; cognate with Dutch schaven to plane (a plank), abrade (the skin), Low German schaven, German schaben, Old Norse skafa to scrape, Gothic skaban to shear, shave; (noun) Middle English schave tool for shaving, Old English sc ( e ) afa, derivative of the v.

Word History and Origins

Origin of shave¹

Old English sceafan; related to Old Norse skafa, Gothic skaban to shave, Latin scabere to scrape

Idioms and Phrases

see close call (shave) .

Example Sentences

Bailey lets her displeasure be known by having a friend shave off her beautiful spray of kinky hair.

From Los Angeles Times

He has proposed making tipped income tax-free, abolishing tax on social security payments and shaving corporation tax.

From BBC

The Cornhuskers then shrugged off a fourth-down sack in the red zone and an injury to Raiola to score another touchdown that shaved their deficit to seven points.

From Los Angeles Times

Esequiel sold corn and shaved ice from a cart he pushed around in Lancaster.

From Los Angeles Times

His agent, Scott Boras, is the best in the business, and he doesn’t give hometown discounts or anything else that shaves numbers off the bottom line.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brush
• cut down
• kiss
• pare
• prune
• shear
• shred
• skim
• slash
• trim