shear stress
the external force acting on an object or surface parallel to the slope or plane in which it lies; the stress tending to produce shear.
Origin of shear stress
1- Also shear·ing stress [sheer-ing stres] /ˈʃɪər ɪŋ ˌstrɛs/ .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for shear stress
the form of stress in a body, part, etc, that tends to produce cutting rather than stretching or bending
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for shear stress
A form of stress that subjects an object to which force is applied to skew, tending to cause shear strain. For example, shear stress on a block of wood would arise by fixing one end and applying force to this other; this would tend to change the block's shape from a rectangle to a parallelogram. See also strain.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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