Decrease and Shear

noun

• A change downward.
  • usage: "there was a decrease in his temperature as the fever subsided"; "there was a sharp drop-off in sales"
  • synonyms: lessening, drop-off
• A process of becoming smaller or shorter.
  • synonyms: decrement
• The amount by which something decreases.
  • synonyms: decrement
• The act of decreasing or reducing something.
  • synonyms: diminution, reduction, step-down

verb

• Decrease in size, extent, or range.
  • usage: "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"
  • synonyms: diminish, lessen, fall
• Make smaller.
  • usage: "He decreased his staff"
  • synonyms: lessen, minify

• (v.t.) To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance decreases one's means.
• (v.) A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength.
• (n.) To grow less, -- opposed to increase; to be diminished gradually, in size, degree, number, duration, etc. or in strength, quality or excellence; as, they days decrease in length from June to December.
• (v.) The wane of the moon.

noun

• Physics) a deformation of an object in which parallel planes remain parallel but are shifted in a direction parallel to themselves. (
  • usage: "the shear changed the quadrilateral into a parallelogram"
• A large edge tool that cuts sheet metal by passing a blade through it.

verb

• Cut with shears.
  • usage: "shear hedges"
• Shear the wool from.
  • usage: "shear sheep"
  • synonyms: fleece
• Cut or cut through with shears.
  • usage: "shear the wool off the lamb"
• Become deformed by forces tending to produce a shearing strain. .

• (v.t.) A pair of shears; -- now always used in the plural, but formerly also in the singular. See Shears.
• (v.t.) An action, resulting from applied forces, which tends to cause two contiguous parts of a body to slide relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact; -- also called shearing stress, and tangential stress.
• (v.t.) Fig.: To deprive of property; to fleece.
• (v.i.) To become more or less completely divided, as a body under the action of forces, by the sliding of two contiguous parts relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact.
• (v.t.) To cut, clip or sever anything from with shears or a like instrument; as, to shear sheep; to shear cloth.
• (v.t.) To produce a change of shape in by a shear. See Shear, n., 4.
• (v.t.) To separate or sever with shears or a similar instrument; to cut off; to clip (something) from a surface; as, to shear a fleece.
• (v.i.) To deviate. See Sheer.
• (v.t.) To reap, as grain.
• (v.t.) A shearing; -- used in designating the age of sheep.
• (v.t.) A strain or change of shape, of an elastic body, consisting of an extension in one direction, an equal compression in a perpendicular direction, with an unchanged magnitude in the third direction.