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.