shed 1 of 2

verb

ˈshed How to pronounce shed (audio)
Definition of shednext
1
as in to peel
to cast (a natural bodily covering or appendage) aside a snake's skin doesn't grow as the snake does, so every so often the snake will shed its old skin

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to unload
to get rid of as useless or unwanted you need to shed your old notions of propriety and have some fun for a change

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shed

2 of 2

noun

as in hut

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word shed different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of shed are cast, discard, junk, scrap, and slough. While all these words mean "to get rid of," shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

shed a bad habit
finally sloughed off the depression

When would cast be a good substitute for shed?

Although the words cast and shed have much in common, cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

When is it sensible to use discard instead of shed?

While the synonyms discard and shed are close in meaning, discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

How do scrap and junk relate to one another, in the sense of shed?

Both scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shed
Verb
Information released Thursday by the Medical Examiner’s Office sheds more light on why San Diego police were searching for 59-year-old Yafang Zhou in the remote area. —Caleb Lunetta, Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2025 Padilla, who had a violent past, was a transient and would sometimes stay at his parents’ backyard shed for their double-wide trailer home at 7850 Slater Ave., near Beach Boulevard, Madera said. —City News Service, Oc Register, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
In June, Steve Ruffner watched a demonstration where two sheds were set on fire. —Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025 Tornado season arrived like clockwork this year, with high winds blowing through the south and southwest suburbs March 19, tearing the roof off a building, picking up a metal shed and throwing trees to the ground. —Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shed
  1. peel
  2. unload
  3. hut
  4. ditch
  5. dump
  6. shack
  7. discard
  8. lose
Verb
  • But Lewandowski is about to peel away to the far post, opening up space for Torres to run to the near post.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Once the eggs are peeled, the sulfur smell spreads more quickly.
    — Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2025
Definition of peel
Verb
  • Shipping containers on the MSC Livorno await unloading at the Port of Long Beach, California on March 5, 2025, one day after US President Donald Trump.
    — Lori Ann LaRocco, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Another 45 minutes later, boxes of staples, MREs, and cases of water were being unloaded and distributed to the community, which had gone without these essentials for eight days.
    — John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Definition of unload
Noun
  • While there was a higher body count in Taormina and Thailand, in terms of work culture Maui seems to be the most loosey-goosey of the resort locations with the staff going down K-holes and sleeping with guests in beachside huts.
    — Eddie Mouradian, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
  • They are thought to live in three groups in both large communal huts and more informal shelters on the beach.
    — Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
Definition of hut
Verb
  • Trump says Iran must ditch ‘concept of a nuclear weapon’ President Donald Trump on Monday once again reiterated that Iran must abandon any hope of obtaining a nuclear weapon as the U.S. prepares for more talks in less than a week.
    — Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Trump should ditch the tariffs, do some damage control with allies and reassert America as the center of global free trade.
    — Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of ditch
Verb
  • The dogs were reported by passersby who alerted the KC Pet Project that dogs appeared to be dumped and roaming the area.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Atmospheric rivers out West also tend to dump their heaviest rain over the open water in the Pacific, because the storms they’re associated with typically peak in strength there.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of dump
Noun
  • There’s this little shack down near my place in Mexico.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
  • At the Flora-Bama, everybody’s welcome, and for many folks, their first pilgrimage to this sprawling shack on the beach begets a second one—and maybe a hundred more after that.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2025
Definition of shack
Verb
  • The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The life of a child in the mother's womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.
    — NPR Staff, NPR, 21 Apr. 2025
Definition of discard
Verb
  • For instance, one study found that after losing a spouse, people tended to neglect their health—eating less nutritiously, skipping meals, drinking more alcohol, moving less, and sleeping less.
    — Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Here are three ways to lead with AI without losing yourself in the process.
    — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Definition of lose

Browse Nearby Words

sheaves
shed
shedding
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shed. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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