Definitions of shear:

• noun:   a large edge tool that cuts sheet metal by passing a blade through it
• noun:   (usually plural) large scissors with strong blades
• noun:   (physics) a deformation of an object in which parallel planes remain parallel but are shifted in a direction parallel to themselves

  Example: "The shear changed the quadrilateral into a parallelogram"

• verb:   cut with shears

  Example: "Shear hedges"

• verb:   cut or cut through with shears
• verb:   shear the wool from

  Example: "Shear sheep"

• name:  A surname (rare: 1 in 100000 families; popularity rank in the U.S.: #12730)