shave
shave / shāv/ • v. 1. [intr.] cut the hair off one's face with a razor: he washed, shaved, and had breakfast. ∎ [tr.] cut the hair off (a part of the body) with a razor: she shaved her legs. ∎ [tr.] cut the hair off the face or another part of the body of (someone) with a razor: his wife washed and shaved him. ∎ cut (hair) off with a razor: professional male swimmers shave off their body hair.2. [tr.] cut (a thin slice or slices) from the surface of something: scrape a large, sharp knife across the surface, shaving off rolls of very fine chocolate. ∎ reduce by a small amount: they shaved profit margins. ∎ remove (a small amount) from something: she shaved 0.5 seconds off the record.3. [tr.] pass or send something close to (something else), missing it narrowly: Scott shaved the post in the 29th minute.• n. 1. an act of shaving hair from the face or a part of the body: he always needed a shave.2. a tool used for shaving very thin slices or layers from wood or other material.