a. The upward curve or amount of upward curve of the longitudinal lines of a ship's hull as viewed from the side.
b. The position in which a ship at anchor is maintained in order to keep it clear of the anchor.
[Probably partly from Low German scheren, to move to and fro (said of boats), and partly from Dutch scheren, to withdraw; see sker- in Indo-European roots.]
sheer 2
(shîr)
adj.sheer·er, sheer·est
1. Thin, fine, and translucent: sheer curtains; sheer chiffon. See Synonyms at airy.
2.
a. Completely such, without qualification or exception: sheer stupidity; sheer happiness.
b. Free from admixture or adulterants; unmixed: sheer alcohol.
c. Considered or operating apart from anything else: got the job through sheer persistence.
3. Almost perpendicular; steep: sheer rock cliffs. See Synonyms at steep1.
adv.
1. Almost perpendicularly.
2. Completely; altogether.
n.
One that is sheer, such as a curtain.
[Obsolete shere, thin, clear, partly from Middle English shir, bright, clear (from Old English scīr) and partly from Middle English skir, bright, clean (from Old Norse skærr).]
(Placename) a port and resort in SE England, in N Kent at the junction of the Medway estuary and the Thames: administratively part of Queenborough in Sheppey since 1968
The sea-reach of the Thames is straight, and, once Sheerness is left behind, its banks seem very uninhabited, except for the cluster of houses which is Southend, or here and there a lonely wooden jetty where petroleum ships discharge their dangerous cargoes, and the oil-storage tanks, low and round with slightly-domed roofs, peep over the edge of the fore-shore, as it were a village of Central African huts imitated in iron.
Lunch came just as they were off Sheerness. He didn't feel so hungry as he thought he should, and so contented himself with a bit of boiled beef, and some strawberries and cream.
Steel analysts also expressed surprise that Celsa wished to purchase the two Cardiff plants rather than the more modern ASW facility in Sheerness, Kent, which had continued in production since July.
A spokeswoman for Pinsent Curtis Biddle was speaking ahead of today's planned visit to Downing Street by 10 former workers from ASW's plants in Cardiff and Sheerness, Kent.
"Although 2001 was another difficult year for ASW, considerable progress was made in consolidating the restructuring of the business and developing the Cardiff and Sheerness sites to their full potential, " he said.
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