shave
- 01 A2 Elementary
v.to cut hair off your face or body very close to the skin using a razor or electric tool.
v.to remove hair from the body by cutting it close to the skin with a razor or clippers. Often used intransitively when referring to the face.
Simple“He decided to shave his beard before the job interview.”
In context“After years of sporting a full beard, he decided to shave completely, revealing a much younger-looking face to his surprised family.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to cut very thin pieces off the surface of something, like wood or food.
v.to remove thin slices or layers from the surface of a material, typically using a sharp blade.
Simple“The chef used a sharp knife to shave thin pieces of parmesan over the pasta.”
In context“The carpenter had to shave a few millimetres off the bottom of the door to ensure it would close smoothly over the new carpet.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to reduce a total amount, price, or time by a small margin.
v.to reduce a value, cost, or duration by a small increment. Often used in the context of competitive sports or financial budgeting.
Simple“The runner managed to shave two seconds off her personal best time.”
In context“By switching to a more efficient supplier, the company was able to shave five percent off its annual production costs.”
- 04 A2 Elementary
n.the act of cutting hair off the skin.
n.the act or process of removing hair with a razor.
Simple“He went to the barber for a professional shave and a haircut.”
In context“A hot towel before a shave helps to soften the hair and prevent skin irritation.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a situation where you only just avoid an accident or a problem.
n.a narrow miss or a situation where disaster was barely averted. Almost exclusively used in the idiom 'a close shave'.
Simple“That car nearly hit us—it was a very close shave.”
In context“The pilot admitted it had been a close shave when the engine sputtered just as the aircraft cleared the mountain ridge.”
Synonymsnear missclose call
Inherited from Middle English shaven, schaven, from Old English sċafan (“to shave, scrape, shred, polish”), from Proto-West Germanic skaban, from Proto-Germanic skabaną (“to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, form, carve”). Cognate with West Frisian skave, Dutch schaven, Low German schaven, German schaben, Danish skave, Norwegian Nynorsk skava, Swedish skava, Icelandic skafa, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (skaban), all roughly “to scrape, chafe, shave, plane, remove the outer lay of”.
From Middle English shave, from Old English sceafa, from Proto-Germanic *skabô.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.