shedding

/'ʃediɳ/

Thân thiện

A snake is shedding its old skin in the terrarium.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The natural process of losing hair, skin, or other outer covering: "shedding" refers to the biological process where an organism loses parts of its body, such as hair, fur, skin, or leaves, often as part of growth or seasonal change.
   • The act of casting off or letting fall: It can also describe the action of something being dropped, discarded, or allowed to fall away.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • My dog's shedding is worse in the spring. (The process of my dog losing its fur is more intense in the spring.)
  • The shedding of leaves is a sign of autumn. (The falling of leaves indicates the arrival of autumn.)
  • Snakes undergo shedding of their skin. (Snakes experience the process of losing their old skin.)

Advanced Usage

• "in the shedding season": during the time of year when an animal typically loses its coat.
  • Remember to brush your cat more often in the shedding season.
• "shedding light on" (idiomatic, related to the verb 'shed'): to clarify or explain something. (Note: This is an idiom using the verb 'shed', not the noun 'shedding' itself).
  • The new evidence is shedding light on the mystery.

Variants and Related Words

• Shed (verb): to cast off, let fall, or lose a natural covering.
  • Trees shed their leaves.
• Exuviae (noun, formal): the cast-off skins or coverings of animals, often used in zoology.
• Molt/Moult (verb/noun): the process of shedding an outer layer, such as feathers, skin, or shell, to make way for new growth. This is a close synonym in biological contexts.
  • The bird is molting its feathers.

Synonyms

• Sloughing off: casting off or shedding, especially skin.
• Casting: throwing off or shedding.
• Loss: the fact or process of losing something.

Related Phrasal Verbs (from the verb 'shed')

• Shed off: (less common) to cast off or discard.
  • The tree will shed off its dead branches.
• Shed out: (primarily used for animals) to lose a winter coat.
  • The horses are shedding out their thick winter fur.

Related Idioms (from the verb 'shed')

• Shed tears: to cry.
  • She shed tears of joy.
• Shed blood: to cause bloodshed or be wounded/killed, often in a violent context.
  • Too much blood has been shed in this conflict.
• Shed weight: to lose body weight.
  • He managed to shed ten pounds.

Học thuật

Noun

1. loss of bits of outer skin by peeling or shedding or coming off in scales
2. the process whereby something is shed

Từ đồng nghĩa

• desquamation
• peeling
• sloughing