sheet

plural sheets

1. Bedsheet; a thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.

   Use the sheets in the hall closet to make the bed.

   2 more examples

   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.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 10:10-11

   If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me / In one of those same sheets.

   c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

2. A piece of paper, usually rectangular, that has been prepared for writing, artwork, drafting, wrapping, manufacture of packaging (boxes, envelopes, etc.), and for other uses. The word does not include scraps and irregular small pieces destined to be recycled, used for stuffing or cushioning or papier-mâché, etc. In modern books, each sheet of paper is typically folded in half, to produce two leaves and four pages. In the absence of folding, "leaf" and "sheet" are equivalent.

   Paper is designated “20 pound” if a stack (ream) of 500 sheets 22 inches by 17 inches weighs 20 pounds.

   1 more example

   A sheet of paper measuring eight and one-half inches wide by eleven inches high is a popular item in commerce.

   1. figuratively(originally referring to a printed document) A summary or record of key information, especially an official one; the information contained in such a document.

      rap sheet, style sheet, material safety datasheet, balance sheet

3. A flat metal pan, often without raised edge, used for baking.

   Place the rolls on the cookie sheet, edges touching, and bake for 10-11 minutes.

4. A thin, flat piece or layer of solid material.

   The glazer cut several panes from a large sheet of glass.

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   A sheet of that new silicon stuff is as good as a sheet of tinfoil to keep food from sticking in the baking pan.

5. A broad, flat expanse or covering of a material on a surface.

   Mud froze on the road in a solid sheet, then more rain froze into a sheet of ice on top of the mud!

   Synonyms: blanket, coat, coating, layer

6. figuratively(Usually used in the plural) An expanse or intense wave of something fluid (such as fire or precipitation), conceptualized as hanging, suspended, falling, or moving in a particular direction.

   ... sheets of fire could be seen. The air became intensely hot and they knew that the forest-fire was upon them.

   1908, Pillar of Fire, page 15

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   ... sheets of light which appear to be formed by a source at one location for horizontal sheets and another location for vertical sheets. This is the direct result of the relative displacement of the two scanners along the optical axis[…]

   1988, A Twin-mirrored Galvanometer Laser Light Sheet Generator

7. nauticalA line (rope) used to adjust the trim of a sail.

   To be "three sheets to the wind" is to say that a four-cornered sail is tethered only by one sheet and thus the sail is useless.

   Synonyms: rope

8. nonstandardnauticalA sail.

   Their folded Sheets dismiss the useless Air

   1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number)

9. ball gamesThe area of ice on which the game of curling is played.
10. nonstandardA layer of veneer.
11. geographyAn extensive bed of an eruptive rock intruded between, or overlying, other strata.
12. nauticalThe space in the forward or after part of a boat where there are no rowers.

    fore sheets; stern sheets

13. datedvideo gamesA distinct level or stage within a game.

    If you land safely you will gain 30 extra points and move to the next sheet.

    1984 February, Sinclair Programs

    2 more examples

    The gecko moves from left to right and you must catch him when he calls. […] On the second sheet you must stand under the Gecko in the tree and jump, and on the third sheet you must catch the Gecko's friend.

    1983, "Program Printout: Gecko" (in Sinclair User, issue 21, page 95)

    What distinguishes Eskimo Eddie from the others is that it has two totally different sheets in the game. […] In the first sheet, Frogger style, you have to rescue Percy penguin from Growler the bear.

    1984, Chris Passey, Matthew Uffindell, “Run It Again”, in Crash, number 4

present singular third person sheets · participle present sheeting · participle past sheeted · past sheeted

1. transitiveTo cover or wrap with cloth, or paper, or other similar material.

   Remember to sheet the floor before you start painting.

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   Yea, like a stag, when snow the pasture sheets, / The barks of trees thou browsed'st.

   c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]

2. transitiveTo form into sheets.
3. intransitiveor other precipitationTo pour heavily.

   We couldn't go out because the rain was sheeting down all day long.

4. nauticalTo trim a sail using a sheet.

1. euphemisticslanguncountableEuphemistic form of shit.

   This sheet is disgusting!

1. A village and civil parish in East Hampshire district, Hampshire, England, previously in Petersfield parish (OS grid ref SU7524).
2. A small village in Ludford parish, next to Ludlow, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SO5374).