sheet Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any broad thin expanse or surface
    • a sheet of ice
  2. noun paper used for writing or printing
    sheet of paper; piece of paper.
  3. noun bed linen consisting of a large rectangular piece of cotton or linen cloth; used in pairs
    bed sheet.
  4. noun (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape
    plane.
    • we will refer to the plane of the graph as the X-Y plane
    • any line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that plane
  5. noun newspaper with half-size pages
    rag; tabloid.
  6. noun a flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and width
    flat solid.
  7. noun (nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind
    mainsheet; tack; shroud; weather sheet.
  8. noun a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel
    canvass; canvas; sail.
  9. verb come down as if in sheets
    • The rain was sheeting down during the monsoon
  10. verb cover with a sheet, as if by wrapping
    • sheet the body

WordNet

Sheet noun
Etymology
OE. shete, schete, AS. scte, scte, fr. sceát a projecting corner, a fold in a garment (akin to D. schoot sheet, bosom, lap, G. schoss bosom, lap, flap of a coat, Icel. skaut, Goth. skauts the hem of a garment); originally, that which shoots out, from the root of AS. sceótan to shoot. See Shoot, v. t.
Definitions
  1. In general, a large, broad piece of anything thin, as paper, cloth, etc.; a broad, thin portion of any substance; an expanded superficies. Specifically: (a) A broad piece of cloth, usually linen or cotton, used for wrapping the body or for a covering; especially, one used as an article of bedding next to the body.
    He fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners. Acts x. 10, 11.
    If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me In one of those same sheets. Shak.
    (b) A broad piece of paper, whether folded or unfolded, whether blank or written or printed upon; hence, a letter; a newspaper, etc. (c) A single signature of a book or a pamphlet; in pl., the book itself.
    To this the following sheets are intended for a full and distinct answer. Waterland.
    (d) A broad, thinly expanded portion of metal or other substance; as, a sheet of copper, of glass, or the like; a plate; a leaf. (e) A broad expanse of water, or the like. "The two beautiful sheets of water." Macaulay. (f) A sail. Dryden. (g) (Geol.) An extensive bed of an eruptive rock intruded between, or overlying, other strata.
  2. AS. sceáta. See the Etymology above. (Naut.) (a) A rope or chain which regulates the angle of adjustment of a sail in relation in relation to the wind; -- usually attached to the lower corner of a sail, or to a yard or a boom. (b) pl. The space in the forward or the after part of a boat where there are no rowers; as, fore sheets; stern sheets. ✍ Sheet is often used adjectively, or in combination, to denote that the substance to the name of which it is prefixed is in the form of sheets, or thin plates or leaves; as, sheet brass, or sheet-brass; sheet glass, or sheet-glass; sheet gold, or sheet-gold; sheet iron, or sheet-iron, etc. Three sheets to the wind, very drunk (now more common than "both sheets in the wind"
Sheet transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Sheeted; present participle & verbal noun Sheeting
Definitions
  1. To furnish with a sheet or sheets; to wrap in, or cover with, a sheet, or as with a sheet. "The sheeted dead." "When snow the pasture sheets." Shak.
  2. To expand, as a sheet.
    The star shot flew from the welkin blue, As it fell from the sheeted sky. J. R. Drake.

Webster 1913