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SHEDDING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Loss of bits of outer skin by peeling or shedding or coming off in scales
Synonyms:
desquamation; peeling; shedding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("shedding" is a kind of...):
organic phenomenon ((biology) a natural phenomenon involving living plants and animals)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The process whereby something is shed
Synonyms:
shedding; sloughing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("shedding" is a kind of...):
biological process; organic process (a process occurring in living organisms)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shedding"):
abscission (shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant)
ecdysis; molt; molting; moult; moulting (periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles)
Derivation:
shed (cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb shed
Context examples:
Mind, I don't say a crime; I am not speaking of shedding of blood or any other guilty act, which might make the perpetrator amenable to the law: my word is error.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
“The cloud is past from my mind. Mutual confidence, so long preserved between us once, is restored, to know no further interruption. Now, welcome poverty!” cried Mr. Micawber, shedding tears.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Half of them, I am sure, were anxious to see us shedding each other’s blood.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Nasty 1 may also be shedding the material sporadically.
(Hubble Observes One-of-a-Kind Star Nicknamed 'Nasty', NASA)
A secretory vesicle between 30 and 90 nm in diameter that can play a role in receptor recycling, plasma membrane protein shedding, and the secretion of proteins and RNA.
(Exosome, NCI Thesaurus)
Particularly, reactivation of NO-mediated signaling appears to inhibit the increased tumor cell shedding of the major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related (MIC) molecules MICA and MICB as is seen in hypoxic tumor environments; MIC molecules play key roles in tumor cell immune surveillance through their interaction with the C-type lectin-like NKG2D receptor on natural killer, lymphokine-activated killer and effector T cells.
(Nitroglycerin Transdermal Patch, NCI Thesaurus)
Shedding of accumulated bone fragments.
(Bone Shedding Debris, NCI Thesaurus)
The Winkies lifted him tenderly in their arms, and carried him back to the Yellow Castle again, Dorothy shedding a few tears by the way at the sad plight of her old friend, and the Lion looking sober and sorry.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
People with higher levels of antibodies against the stem portion of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein have less viral shedding when they get the flu, but do not have fewer or less severe signs of illness, according to a new study.
(Flu infection study increases understanding of natural immunity, National Institutes of Health)
Specifically, the NIAID team found that the individuals with high NA antibody levels experienced less severe disease, a shorter duration of viral shedding and symptoms, and fewer and less severe symptoms compared with those with high HA levels when challenged with the 2009 H1N1 virus.
(Study finds factors that may influence influenza vaccine effectiveness, NIH)
