kerf vs shearing

kerf

noun
  • The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision. 

  • The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke. 

  • The distance between diverging saw teeth. 

  • The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section. 

verb
  • To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent. 

shearing

noun
  • The act or operation of dividing with shears. 

  • Deformation by forces acting in opposite directions. 

  • The process of making a vertical side cutting in working into a face of coal. 

  • The act or operation of reaping. 

  • The act or operation of clipping with shears or a shearing machine, as the wool from sheep, or the nap from cloth. 

  • The material cut off in this way. 

  • The process of preparing shear steel; tilting. 

adj
  • Tending to cut or tear. 

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