shed

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ʃɛd/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like shade /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like said /s/ vs /ʃ/

Freq #3539

Meanings

1

verb
To get rid of something you no longer want or need.

The company shed hundreds of jobs during the recession.
2

verb
To let hair, skin, leaves, or feathers fall off naturally.

Our dog sheds a lot of hair every spring.
3

verb
To let tears or blood fall.

She shed a few tears as she said goodbye.
4

verb
To send out or spread light.

The lamp shed a warm glow across the room.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to get rid of something you... throw

2 verb · to let hair, skin, leaves,... exuviatemolt moult slough

3 verb · to let tears or blood fall. spill

Word family

Forms sheddingshedsunshed

Derived forms bikeshedbloodshedcartshedcattleshedcoalshedcookshedcountershedcowshedculturesheddesheddingdriveshedfoodshed

Related forms cabin hovel hut kiosk outbuilding pergola shack shanty stall storehouse

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

shed blood
to cause bloodshed through violence or to lose blood oneself

Verb + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English scheden, schede, from Old English scēadan, scādan (“to separate, divide, part, make a line of separation between; remove from association or companionship; distinguish, discriminate, decide, determine, appoint; shatter, shed; expound; decree; write down; differ”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną (compare West Frisian skiede, Dutch and German scheiden), from Proto-Indo-European *skeyt- (“to cut, part, divide, separate”), from *skey-. See also Irish scian (“knife”), Lithuanian skėsti (“to spread”), ski̇́esti (“to separate”), Old Church Slavoni…

*skey- Proto-Indo-European scheden Middle English scēadan Old English *skaiþan Proto-West Germanic *skaiþaną Proto-Germanic *skeyt- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# shed

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ʃɛd/
**Frequency rank:** 3539

## Meanings
1. To get rid of something you no longer want or need.
2. To let hair, skin, leaves, or feathers fall off naturally.
3. To let tears or blood fall.
4. To send out or spread light.

## Examples
- The company shed hundreds of jobs during the recession.
- Our dog sheds a lot of hair every spring.
- She shed a few tears as she said goodbye.
- The lamp shed a warm glow across the room.

## Derived Forms
- bikeshed
- bloodshed
- cartshed
- cattleshed
- coalshed
- cookshed
- countershed
- cowshed
- cultureshed
- deshedding
- driveshed
- foodshed

## Related Forms
- cabin
- hovel
- hut
- kiosk
- outbuilding
- pergola
- shack
- shanty
- stall
- storehouse

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *skey-
- Root: scheden
- Root: scēadan
- Root: *skaiþan
- Root: *skaiþaną
- Root: *skeyt-

## Etymology
From Middle English scheden, schede, from Old English scēadan, scādan (“to separate, divide, part, make a line of separation between; remove from association or companionship; distinguish, discriminate, decide, determine, appoint; shatter, shed; expound; decree; write down; differ”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną (compare West Frisian skiede, Dutch and German scheiden), from Proto-Indo-European *skeyt- (“to cut, part, divide, separate”), from *skey-. See also Irish scian (“knife”), Lithuanian skėsti (“to spread”), ski̇́esti (“to separate”), Old Church Slavoni…

## AI Etymology
Shed is from Middle English scheden, schede, from Old English scēadan, scādan (“to separate, divide, part, make a line of separation between; remove from association or companionship; distinguish, discriminate, decide, determine, appoint; shatter, shed; expound; decree; write down; differ”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną (compare West Frisian skiede, Dutch and German scheiden), from Proto-Indo-European *skeyt- (“to cut, part, divide, separate”), from *skey-. Important forms in the word's history include Proto-Indo-European *skey-, Middle English scheden, Old English scēadan, Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną, Proto-Indo-European *skeyt-. In current use it includes senses such as To get rid of something you no longer want or need and To let hair, skin, leaves, or feathers fall off naturally.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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