sheet
/ʃit/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.40 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A piece of paper, usually rectangular, that has been prepared for writing, artwork, drafting, wrapping, manufacture of packaging (boxes, envelopes, etc.), and for other uses. The word does not include scraps and irregular small pieces destined to be recycled, used for stuffing or cushioning or paper mache, etc. In modern books, each sheet of paper is typically folded in half, to produce two leaves and four pages. In the absence of folding, "leaf" and "sheet" are equivalent.
noun
A sail.
Example Sentences
- "Use the sheets in the hall closet to make the bed."
- "He fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners."
- "If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me / In one of those same sheets."
- "A sheet of paper measuring eight and one-half inches wide by eleven inches high is a popular item in commerce."
- "Paper is designated “20 pound” if a stack (ream) of 500 sheets 22 inches by 17 inches weighs 20 pounds."
- "Place the rolls on the cookie sheet, edges touching, and bake for 10-11 minutes."
Etymology
From Middle English schete; partly from Old English sċīete (“a sheet, a piece of linen cloth”); partly from Old English sċēata (“a corner, angle; the lower corner of a sail, sheet”); and Old English sċēat (“a corner, angle”); all from Proto-Germanic *skautijǭ, *skautaz (“corner, wedge, lap”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to throw, shoot, pursue, rush”). Cognate with North Frisian skut (“the fold of a garment, lap, coattail”), West Frisian skoat (“sheet; sail; lap”), Dutch schoot (“the fold of a garment, lap, sheet”), German Low German Schote (“a line from the foot of a sail”), German Schoß (“the fold of a garment, lap”), Danish skød (“lap, skirt”), Icelandic skaut (“the corner of a cloth, a line from the foot of a sail, the skirt or sleeve of a garment, a hood”), Norwegian skaut (“headdress”), Swedish sköt (“sheet”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: schete, sċīete, sċēata, sċēat, *skautijǭ, *(s)kewd-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʃit/
- British English: /ʃiːt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
hit the sheets
three sheets to the wind
under the sheets
white as a sheet
thin layer of solid material
expanse of material