- to scorch or burn the surface of
- to brand with a hot iron
- to cause to wither or dry up
- rare to make callous or unfeeling
- poetic dried up
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Sears
(sērz),USA pronunciation n.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- Biographical Richard Warren, 1863–1914, U.S. mail-order retailer.
sear1 /sɪr/USA pronunciation
v.,
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [~ + object]
- to scorch or char the surface of:to sear the beef.
sear1
(sēr),USA pronunciation v.t.
v.i.
n.
adj.
sear2 (sēr),USA pronunciation n.
- to burn or char the surface of:She seared the steak to seal in the juices.
- to mark with a branding iron.
- Pathologyto burn or scorch injuriously or painfully:He seared his hand on a hot steam pipe.
- to make callous or unfeeling;
harden:The hardship of her youth has seared her emotionally. - to dry up or wither;
parch.
v.i.
- to become dry or withered, as vegetation.
n.
- Pathologya mark or scar made by searing.
adj.
- sere1.
- bef. 900; (adjective, adjectival) Middle English sere, Old English sēar; cognate with Dutch zoor; (verb, verbal) Middle English seren, Old English sēarian, derivative of sēar
- 1. See burn 1.
sear2 (sēr),USA pronunciation n.
- a pivoted piece that holds the hammer at full cock or half cock in the firing mechanism of small arms.
- Vulgar Latin *serrāre, for Late Latin serāre to bar (a door), derivative of Latin sera door-bar; Vulgar Latin -rr- unexplained
- Middle French serre a grip, derivative of serrer to lock up, close
- 1550–60
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sear /sɪə/ vb (transitive)