sheer

SHEER, adjective 1. Pure; clear; separate from anything foreign; unmingled; as sheer ale. But this application is unusual. We saysheer argument, sheer wit, sheer falsehook, etc. 2. Clear; thin; as sheer muslin. SHEER, adverb Clean; quite; at once. Obs. SHEER, verb transitive To sheer [Not in use.] SHEER, verb intransitive [See Shear, the sense of which is to separate.] 1. In seamen's language, to decline or deviate from the line of the proper course, as a ship when not steered with steadiness. 2. To slip or move aside. To sheer off, to turn or move aside to a distance. To sheer up, to turn and approach to a place or ship. SHEER, noun 1. The longitudinal curve or bend of a ship's deck or sides. 2. The position in which a ship is sometimes kept at single anchor, to keep her clear of it. To break sheer, to deviate from that position and fisk fouling the anchor.