Definitions, Translations, and Word of the Day
Definition of "sear" [sear]
- To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with or as if with a hot instrument. See Synonyms at burn1. (verb-transitive)
- To cause to dry up and wither. (verb-transitive)
- To become withered or dried up. (verb-intransitive)
- A condition, such as a scar, produced by searing. (noun)
- The catch in a gunlock that keeps the hammer halfcocked or fully cocked. (noun)
American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Use "sear" in a sentence
- "V. iii.22 (518,6) my way of life/Is fall'n into the sear] As there is no relation between the _way of life_, and _fallen into the sear_, I am inclined to think that the W is only an M inverted, and that it was originally written,"
- "The only gun I know that can be made full auto by filing the sear is the old M-1 carbine."
- "Sooner or later they would get him, if he did not get them first, if he did not once again sear on their dark souls the flaming mastery of the white man."