grain vs shred

grain

noun
  • A single particle of a substance. 

  • The French grain of ¹⁄₉₂₁₆ livre, equivalent to 53.11 mg at metricization and equal to exactly 54.25 mg from 1812–1839 as part of the mesures usuelles. 

  • A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant. 

  • Similar seeds from any food crop, e.g., buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa. 

  • Visual texture in processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons. 

  • One of the branches of a valley or river. 

  • The harvested seeds of various grass food crops eg: wheat, corn, barley. 

  • Temper; natural disposition; inclination. 

  • A blade of a sword, knife, etc. 

  • A region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction. 

  • The carat grain of ¹⁄₄ carat as a measure of gold purity, creating a 96-point scale between 0% and 100% purity. 

  • An iron fish spear or harpoon, with a number of points half-barbed inwardly. 

  • A thin piece of metal, used in a mould to steady a core. 

  • The English grain of ¹⁄₅₇₆₀ troy pound or ¹⁄₇₀₀₀ pound avoirdupois, now exactly 64.79891 mg. 

  • The solid piece of fuel in an individual solid-fuel rocket engine. 

  • A single seed of grass food crops. 

  • The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on that side. 

  • Any of various small units of length originally notionally based on a grain's width, variously standardized at different places and times. 

  • The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff. 

  • A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock. 

  • The metric, carat, or pearl grain of ¹⁄₄ carat used for measuring precious stones and pearls, now exactly 50 mg. 

  • The crops from which grain is harvested. 

  • A linear texture of a material or surface. 

  • A reddish dye made from the coccus insect, or kermes; hence, a red color of any tint or hue, as crimson, scarlet, etc.; sometimes used by the poets as equivalent to Tyrian purple. 

verb
  • To remove the hair or fat from a skin. 

  • To feed grain to. 

  • To texture a surface in imitation of the grain of a substance such as wood. 

  • To soften leather. 

  • To make granular; to form into grains. 

  • To yield fruit. 

  • To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization; to granulate. 

shred

noun
  • A fragment of something; a particle; a piece; also, a very small amount. 

  • A thin strip of fruit peel, a vegetable, etc., cut so that it curls. 

  • A long, narrow piece (especially of fabric) cut or torn off; a strip; specifically, a piece of cloth or clothing. 

  • A thin strand or wisp, as of a cloud, mist, etc. 

  • A shard or sherd (“a piece of broken glass or pottery”). 

adj
  • Synonym of shredded (“cut or torn into narrow strips or small pieces”) 

verb
  • To become separated into small portions. 

  • To reduce body weight due to fat and water before a competition. 

  • To cut through (snow, water, etc.) swiftly with one's snowboard, surfboard, etc.; (by extension) to move or ride along (a road, track, etc.) aggressively and rapidly. 

  • To reduce (something) by a large percentage; to slash. 

  • To cut or tear (something) into long, narrow pieces or strips. 

  • To separate (something) into small portions. 

  • Chiefly in rock and heavy metal: to play (a musical instrument (especially a guitar) or a piece of music) very fast. 

  • To cut (fruit peel, a vegetable, etc.) into thin strips that curl. 

  • To convincingly defeat (someone); to thrash, to trounce. 

  • To travel swiftly using a snowboard, surfboard, or vehicle. 

  • To destroy (a document) by cutting or tearing into strips or small pieces that cannot easily be read, especially using a shredder. 

How often have the words grain and shred occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )