What does "shave" mean?
Shave: To cut or pare off from the surface of a body with a razor or other edged instrument; to cut off closely, as with a razor; as, to shave the beard.
Additional senses
- 2.To make bare or smooth by cutting off closely the surface, or surface covering, of; especially, to remove the hair from with a razor or other sharp instrument; to take off the beard or hair of; as, to shave the face or the crown of the head; he shaved himself. I'll shave your crown for this. Shak. The laborer with the bending scythe is seen Shaving the surface of the waving green. Gay.
- 3.To cut off thin slices from; to cut in thin slices. Plants bruised or shaven in leaf or root. Bacon.
- 4.To skim along or near the surface of; to pass close to, or touch lightly, in passing. Now shaves with level wing the deep. Milton.
- 5.To strip; to plunder; to fleece. [Colloq.] To shave a note, to buy it at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest, or to deduct in discounting it more than the legal rate allows. [Cant, U.S.]
- 6.To use a razor for removing the beard; to cut closely; hence, to be hard and severe in a bargain; to practice extortion; to cheat.
- 7.A thin slice; a shaving. Wright.
- 8.A cutting of the beard; the operation of shaving.
- 9.(a) An exorbitant discount on a note. [Cant, U.S.] (b) A premium paid for an extension of the time of delivery or payment, or for the right to vary a stock contract in any particular. [Cant, U.S.] N. Biddle.
- 10.A hand tool consisting of a sharp blade with a handle at each end; a drawing knife; a spokeshave.
- 11.The act of passing very near to, so as almost to graze; as, the bullet missed by a close shave. [Colloq.] Shave grass (Bot.), the scouring rush. See the Note under Equisetum. -- Shave hook, a tool for scraping metals, consisting of a sharp- edged triangular steel plate attached to a shank and handle.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00