sheer

adv. Clean; quite; at once. [ Obs. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Shear. ] To shear. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Sheered p. pr. & vb. n. Sheering. ] [ D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See Shear. ] To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a horse sheers at a bicycle. [ 1913 Webster ]

To sheer off, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move away. --
To sheer up, to approach obliquely. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Naut.) (a) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck, gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from the side. (b) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and swinging clear of it. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A turn or change in a course. [ 1913 Webster ]

Give the canoe a sheer and get nearer to the shore. Cooper. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. Shears See Shear. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sheer batten (Shipbuilding), a long strip of wood to guide the carpenters in following the sheer plan. --
Sheer boom, a boom slanting across a stream to direct floating logs to one side. --
Sheer hulk. See Shear hulk, under Hulk. --
Sheer plan, or
Sheer draught (Shipbuilding), a projection of the lines of a vessel on a vertical longitudinal plane passing through the middle line of the vessel. --
Sheer pole (Naut.), an iron rod lashed to the shrouds just above the dead-eyes and parallel to the ratlines. --
Sheer strake (Shipbuilding), the strake under the gunwale on the top side. Totten. --
To break sheer (Naut.), to deviate from sheer, and risk fouling the anchor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. At once; absolutely. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]